A Familiar Place III: A Future Untold
by AnneM.Oliver
Summary: Sometimes the most familiar place is with someone you love. Set during their 6th year at Hogwarts, Draco has to go back to the worst year of his life to secure his future with Hermione Granger. 3rd in a series. This story can stand alone w/out reading 1&2
1. Part I: Introduction

All characters belong to JKR

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Summary:

A Familiar Place III – A familiar place is with someone you love. Draco Malfoy must travel to the past & he's willing to endure anything, even reliving the worst year of his life, if it means he will secure his future with the woman he loves. Third in the "A Familiar Place" series. Do not need to read the other two for this one.

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A Familiar Place III: A Future Untold

By

AnneM.

**Part I: **

**Introduction:**

Draco Malfoy sat by his window at Malfoy Manor, on a starless, late summer night and looked out at the scenery below. How did he get to this place and time? He closed his eyes, with the dread of what was ahead of him hanging heavy on his shoulders. Tomorrow morning he would be going back to Hogwarts, to the relive the worst year of his life. He was not looking forward to what was facing him, but he would face any danger, any demon, any fear, as long as his future with Hermione Granger was left intact.

Was it really, only five years ago that Draco fell in love with Hermione Granger? Five years ago, that he went back to Hogwarts to finish his education. Due to a chance encounter with the former 'Mudblood' on the train, his future was changed forever, and he would not chance changing that future again for anything, even if the year they fell in love was the third worst year of Draco's life.

_Flashback to Familiar Place I:_

_Hermione turned her head when she heard the compartment door open. She saw a pair of highly polished black shoes enter first, and then looked up to see the person walking in those shoes. It was Draco Malfoy, in the flesh._

_Should she speak to him? Should she say 'hello'? Should she just turn her head and ignore his existence? She decided to ignore him. He sat down opposite her, apparently ignoring her as well, and took out a book from his bag and started to read. The apparent niceties such as "hello" and "good day" were foreign to him as well. Hermione crossed her leg and her foot began bobbing up and down, as she read her book. He crossed his legs and his foot accidentally knocked into hers. He didn't look up, for if he had he would have seen her glare, but he simply said, "Pardon", and continued to read._

_Hermione wondered why he was like that. Why did he think he was so much better, so high above, everyone else? It was probably the same reason why he stood idly by while people were tortured and killed under his nose at his own house, Hermione included. She knew deep in her heart that he was just a scared kid, who really couldn't have done anything on his own against an army of Death Eaters, his own parents, and Lord Voldemort. Nevertheless, sometimes doing nothing was as much of a crime as committing the crime itself. She reminded herself that when they were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, he never really confirmed to his family who they were, even when asked directly. His mother was the one who confirmed her identity. Still, she wasn't sure she could ever forgive him. She wasn't sure she wanted to._

_Hermione was peeved, just knowing he was there. Why was Malfoy in her compartment? She should have shared with Neville and Luna when she had a chance. She put her book away, and stood to stuff her bag in the overhead compartment. She hiked the bag up, heaved the heavy load, and grunted. It really was heavy. She was shocked and appalled when Malfoy stood, took her bag from her, opened the overhead, and stuffed it in. Then he gave her a dirty look, and sat back down. Honestly. She didn't ask for his help. He didn't have to give her that kind of look._

"_Thank you," she heard herself say._

"_Whatever," he replied curtly._

_They were all told to bring a packed lunch with them on the train, as there would be no food trolley. Hermione took out her food and it smelled wonderful. Mrs. Weasley had packed it, and gave it to her when they all saw her off this morning. _

"_What's that retched smell?" Malfoy asked._

"_My lunch," she said, with a tone implying that he was indeed a moron._

_He took that moment to unwrap his own lunch. It did smell even better than hers did. He conjured a plate, silverware, and a silk napkin. Hermione rolled her eyes. She opened her butterbeer and he suddenly swore under his breath._

"_What?" she found herself asking._

"_The damn elf forgot to pack anything for me to drink," he stated, just realizing this when Hermione opened her butterbeer. Hermione reached in her bag, drew out another bottle, and offered it to him. He looked at her with hooded eyes, and she actually had to move the bottle back and forth in front of him, before he took her meaning. He took the bottle and grunted. She wasn't sure, but the grunt may have been a 'thank-you'. _

_They ate in complete silence. It was awkward. He must have felt it first, for he reached back over and retrieved his book. Her book was in her bag in the overhead, and she wasn't about to try to fish it out now, not after all the trouble he went to putting it in there._

_They continued to eat in peace, which was fine with Hermione. She sat, looked out the window, and wished she had her book. She looked over at him, still reading, and asked, "What are you reading?"_

"_Why are you talking to me?" he asked, annoyed._

"_Sorry," she said, looking out the window again, "I'm just bored."_

"_Read your book," he spoke to her as if she was a two-year-old child, misbehaving._

"_It's in my bag in the overhead compartment," she explained._

_With anger, he put his book on his seat, stood up, retrieved her bag, and threw it on the seat next to her. He sat back down. She took out her book and began to read again._

"_What are you reading?" he asked her after a moment._

"_I asked you first, and five minutes ago," she scathed._

"_I'm reading __A Tale of Two Cities,__" Draco said, still not looking at her. _

"_I'm reading __The Fellowship of the Ring__," she answered back._

"_I've read that one," he responded._

"_I've read the one you are reading, too," she said, not to be out done._

"_We should stop talking," he said unexpectedly._

"_Why?" she asked, putting her book on her lap again, "We can talk, this isn't the Library."_

"_Someone might see," he responded._

"_So what? Are you embarrassed to talk to me?" she asked, her feelings somewhat hurt. She should have known._

"_I rather think it's the other way around," he stated, putting his book on his lap._

"_I'm not embarrassed," she told him._

"_What would you say if someone saw us talking?" he asked with the raise of one eyebrow._

"_That you are irritating, and what would you say?" she said flippantly, as she picked her book back up._

"_That's what I would say about you, as well," he said without a trace of a smile._

"_I would say that no one asked your opinion," she pointed out._

"_I would point out that you just did, actually," he countered._

"_Then perhaps we should stop talking," she recommended._

"_Agreed, then that solves the aforementioned problem, of people seeing us talking," he decided, as he picked up his book and continued to read_.

**Back at the Manor:**

After the war, and with both his parents in prison, Draco had nowhere else to go, so his mother made him go back to Hogwarts. The school had introduced an accelerated program of independent study and internships for students who missed their seventh year of schooling due to the war. These students, called 'Eighth Years', studied for their Newts, and then graduated. Draco went back that year because he had nowhere else to go. Hermione went because she loved to learn.

Just as the book he had read on the train all those years ago had stated, that year was the worst of times, and it was the best of times. It was the best of times, because he became friends with Hermione Granger, and they eventually fell in love. It was the worst of times, because he almost lost her that year.

A crazy professor, a demented Auror, and a former Gryffindor, decided to make Draco Malfoy pay for the sins of his father, and they decided to use Hermione Granger as a means to an end. Draco hated remembering how he almost lost her that year. That was the year they met the Boot brothers, whose youngest brother, Terry, died trying to protect Draco and Hermione.

After graduation, they became engaged and spent a relatively uneventful year together. Draco went to school to study potions, and Hermione started teaching at Hogwarts.

The year after that, with Hermione a full pledged teacher, and Draco doing his Potion's Internship under Don Boot, who was the Potion Master, Draco and Hermione experienced what he would always consider his second worst year of his life.

**The Second Worst Year of Draco's Life:**

Strange things began happening to Hermione while she taught at Hogwarts. Draco was even forced to delay his Internship and return to her. She was experiencing odd events, strange dreams, and unexplained injuries. The site of the founders of Hogwarts original castle was being excavated, and Hermione was heavily involved, more so that even she could have ever expected.

The Boot Brothers once again played a pivotal role in their lives, as both protectors and friends. Unknown at the time, it was their own mother who precipitated the events of that year.

_Flashback to Familiar Place II:_

_She sighed. She took off her shoes and socks. She was under a tall maple tree, and she sighed again. It was the perfect day for lying outside, in the shade. Hermione laid back, shut her eyes, and soon slumber overtook her. She dreamt she was lying under a maple tree, on a warm August day, and Draco was lying on his side beside her. He began to stroke her bare arm up and down with his fingertips. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was not a dream! Draco was there. She smiled widely. He had not yet noticed that she had opened her eyes. He was watching his own hand go up and down her arms. She shut her eyes again and said, "Oh, Ron, I know we shouldn't, but that feels so good."_

_He tickled her ribs and she laughed. "Stop!" she implored._

"_You better have not been dreaming of the weasel!" he said, as he stopped tickling her and stared down at her beautiful face. She had one eye shut, to block out the sun. The sun, streaking through the shade of the tree, was dancing off her face and in her eyes. "Hello, Granger, have you missed me."_

_She threw her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her as her reply. "When did you get here? You weren't due until Friday." _

_He propped himself back up on his elbow and put his hand on her flat stomach. He leaned down and kissed her. "Do you want me to go away until Friday, because for you, I would?"_

"_Shut up and kiss me again," she said, and he obliged. He leaned down and kissed her with a long, passionate kiss. He rolled over and brought her down on top of him. She looked at him, as she propped herself up on her arms. "Have you seen our new living arrangements?" she asked._

_He sat up with a frown. "I know the old bat didn't go with my suggestion that we share a room. What did she do, put us on different floors, on different wings."_

"_Close," Hermione laughed._

"_Damn, her. What is she, like a 75 year old virgin?" Draco stood up and reached down to help Hermione stand. She bent down and got her shoes and socks. He picked up his bag and satchel and they started back into the castle. He held her right hand and he felt the scratch on the top. "How did you hurt your hand?" he asked._

_Ignoring him, Hermione asked, "How did you know I was out here?" _

"_I didn't," he admitted, "I was heading toward the castle and I saw you. Why are you napping outside? Don't you have lessons to plan for?" he asked, swinging her arm._

"_I have all my lessons planned for the whole year," she lied. It was almost the truth. She had them planned until December. He, however, believed her._

"_You are one studious teacher, aren't you, little one?" he joked._

"_I try, now tell me, why you are back early?" she asked._

_He yawned and said, "I didn't have to take any of my exams, because I received all 'Outstandings' in all my courses. You aren't the only smart one, you know. Therefore, I got back a few days early. I stopped by and saw my mother first, and then came back here."_

_They walked in the front doors, and Hermione said, "Your boyfriend Don isn't back yet."_

"_Damn, I will just have to visit with you until he gets back," Draco said seriously._

_They walked up to Draco's room, and he threw his things on the floor, and plopped on his bed. His trunk had already been delivered to his room. "Aren't you going to unpack?" Hermione asked, standing in the middle of his room._

"_It can wait," he said, shutting his eyes._

"_Won't you be able to relax better, knowing that it's done?" she asked, looking around._

"_I'm relaxing fine, however, I know you won't be able to relax until I'm unpacked, so make yourself happy and unpack for me," he said, looking up at her._

_She gave him a frown, but knew he was right. She opened his trunk and started hanging his clothes up in his wardrobe. He got off the bed and started to help. "I wouldn't really make you do it on your own," he laughed._

"_Yes you would," she replied. As she was hanging up his shirts, he noticed her hand again. He took her hand in his._

"_Tell me how you got this nasty scratch," he asked again._

"_I honestly don't know. I woke up and it was there this morning," she answered truthfully._

"_That's odd," he said._

"_Yes, I have several bruises, too. Some are a couple weeks old, and some new ones, look," she said. She lifted her khaki skirt slightly and showed him the large purple bruise on her hip._

"_Goodness, Granger, is someone beating you?" he asked, as he gingerly touched the bruise. "Where are the other bruises?"_

"_Here and there," she said lightly, "I saw Madame Pomfrey. She said that I must have been inflicting them to myself at night. I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping, and she said I might be having night terrors. Too much stress and worry."_

"_Why are you stressed and worried?" he asked, bringing his arms around her._

"_School, the wedding, you being away, take your pick. I just know things will be better now that you are back," she said, looking up at him and smiling. "Oh, did you hear, Neville is coming back to do an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout. He completed a full year of schooling and now he is coming back here to study for a year. It will be like old times."_

"_Lord, he's probably going to be in your old room, right next to mine," he said dryly._

_Hermione laughed and said, "He is, actually. You can sneak out at night and visit him, like you used to with me."_

_Draco shuddered as a response. He said, "One boyfriend is enough for me." Then he said, "Let's get back to your problem. How long has this been going on, little one?"_

"_Since I got back to Hogwarts," she explained, "but really, it's not that big of a thing, so don't worry." She bent down to take a pair of shoes out of his trunk and she saw a rather large wrapped present. "Is this a present for your boyfriend, Don?" she joked._

"_If you want it, you can have it, if not, yes, it's for him," he said, taking the shoes she dropped and putting them in the bottom of the wardrobe. _

_She sat on his bed, and he sat beside her. She unwrapped the gift and looked in the box. It was a book. A very old, ancient looking text. A book on the four founders of Hogwarts. "Wow, this is nice, and it looks really old." She turned the large book around carefully. "This is perfect, thank you," and she leaned over and kissed his lips. "Did you know that Professor McWhorter was supervising an archeological site right here on the grounds, and she thinks she's found some artifacts that date back to the founders. I have been helping, so really, this might be very helpful."_

_He stood up and started to put his things away again. "Yes, I have to admit that my boyfriend, Don, mentioned it to me in a letter, so I thought you would like this book. I stole it, by the way."_

_Hermione put the large tome down and said, "Stole it? From where?'_

"_The library at the Manor," he said plainly._

"_That's not really stealing, is it?" she said, bending down to help him._

"_I guess not, I just liked the way that sounded. I stole something. I have to keep my bad boy image up, you know," he said._

**Back to the Manor, again****:**

Between the excavations of the first castle, the mysteries surrounding the four founders, and the secrets involving the Boot brother's mother, Helena Boot, that year was indeed the second worst year of Draco's life. It was the year they found out that Hermione Granger, Muggle born, was a direct descendant of both Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. It was also the year that Nick Boot, a gifted seer, made a prophecy regarding Hermione, which his mother was determined to stop. Helena Boot tried very hard to kill Hermione that year, but in the end, she only succeeded in losing her own life, and at Hermione's hand.

None of the Boots blamed Hermione. Don Boot, the eldest, was Draco's best friend, and Helena was merely his stepmother. The other two, Nick and the youngest, Paul, found out that their mother never cared for any of her sons. She only ever loved her daughter, a woman she kept secret from all of them, a woman named Ellen Ward, who was sent to Azkaban after her mother's death, for her role in the attempted murder of Hermione Granger.

**The Worst Year of Draco Malfoy's Life:**

As Draco sat by his window, looking out into the darkness, he knew those two years were terrible, but somehow, since Hermione had entered his life during those two years, he couldn't classify them as the WORST years of his life, not really. No, that noble title went to the year he was forced to relive right at this moment in time - his sixth year at Hogwarts. The year he was 16 years old. The year he was forced to take the dark mark, and was given the task to kill their Headmaster. Yes, that was the worst year of his life, because that year he was alone, because he didn't yet have Hermione in his life.

Only one thing could make him come back to this God-awful year. Only one thing could make him relive it all. He had to come back, to secure his future. He had to come back, because once again, a mad woman wanted to spoil his happiness, and his future. Ellen Ward escaped from Azkaban, found an ancient tome written by Rowena Ravenclaw on time travel, and had come back to his specific year to seek revenge for her mother's death. If the woman succeeded, Draco Malfoy would no longer have a reason to live. His future would be forever altered without Hermione Granger, so to secure his future; he had to relive his past.

He just hoped he would be able to get through this year again, and without her, because if he didn't, there would be no future with her, and that was something he wasn't willing to face.

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_A/N: I will post Part II tomorrow, and part III a day or so after that. I hope those of you who have read the first two stories enjoy this third in the series, and I hope those who haven't read the other two will still give this a look, and perhaps go back and read the other two. Thanks so much!_


	2. Part II

All characters belong to JKR

**Part II: **

**No Reason to Worry:**

There was something comforting about the sound of rain on a windowpane, and the knowledge that while the outside was wet and the wind was blowing, inside there was a dry place to lay your head, a beacon of refuge and hope. Inside equaled security. Inside equaled harmony. Inside was where Draco Malfoy felt safe and warm and all was right in his little world.

Outside it could be dark, wet, with blowing wind, thunder and lightning, but if a person was safe inside, under their covers, beside the woman they loved, there was no reason to worry.

Draco Malfoy looked over at the woman he loved and the small swell in her belly. He still could not believe he was going to be a father. Every day he woke up with the same worries: Would he be a good father? Would he be a better father than his own father was? Would he be able to protect his child from harm? Every night he went to bed with the same dread. What if something happened to Hermione or the baby? What if something happened to Draco and he left them alone? What if, what if, what if.

It was slowly driving him insane, yet it was the happiest time of his life. He felt not only happy, but also fulfilled, normal, even at peace. In other words, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something wasn't right. Hermione and he had gone two whole years without peril, and he knew their time was up, and something was waiting for them around the bend. Something unpleasant. There had to be.

Hermione told him not to worry about imaginary things.

His father told him it was time he started acting like the 23-year-old man that he was.

His mother told him not to dwell on bad things.

He just needed someone to tell him it was all right to worry. He needed to worry. He was used to worrying. It felt right and natural to worry.

"Hermione," he said softly. She opened her eyes.

"Can't you sleep?" she asked.

"It's storming outside," he said.

"Are you afraid of the thunder?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's right, I'm afraid of the thunder," he said with as much disdain as he could muster at 3:24 in the morning. He placed his hand on her belly and pulled her closer to him. "How's junior?"

"I told you not to call the baby that," she said.

"I have to call it something," he said. "It's not a zygote any longer, nor is it an embryo. It sounds too common to say 'the baby'. If he was still a fetus, I suppose I could call him Cetus the Fetus. Cetus is a name of a constellation."

"Over my dead body," she said. "You know if you would like, I could tell you the gender, and we could go ahead and name it." Hermione had known the baby's gender since she was just 16 weeks pregnant. She was now 20 weeks pregnant. Draco didn't want to know, so he made Hermione swear not to tell him.

He put his hands over his ears and said, "Don't you dare tell me!"

"Fine, but I have a gender neutral name picked out anyway, so we could just call it that, and you still won't know the sex," Hermione said.

Draco actually sat up in bed and said, "Why do you get to name it? And you know I have to name it something in the Malfoy tradition. A constellation name, Hermione. My mother and father insist."

Hermione laughed but then she saw Draco's stern countenance and said, "Oh, you're not joking, are you?"

"What name do you have picked out for the little bugger?" Draco asked, turning to his side and putting his hand on her arm.

"Terry. After Terry Boot. I thought Don would like that," she said.

Don Boot was Draco's best friend in the whole world, and next to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, he was also Hermione's. He had been more than a friend to them for the past five years. He had been their saviour, in many ways. He literally saved their lives twice. He had taken a vow many years ago to protect them, along with his three brothers, one of which, Terry, died fulfilling his oath.

Draco thought it was a lovely sentiment, to want to name the baby after Terry, but he didn't want to saddle his baby with such a common name. "Hermione, with names like ours, don't you think the little baby inside you deserves something less mundane. We could use Terry for the middle name; I think that would be nice."

"Fine, Einstein, what do you want to name it," she asked, yawning.

He gave her a mean glare at the Einstein comment, and then said, "For girls I like Vega, Adhara, Gemma, Aquilla, Hydra or Carina. For boys I only like Orion, Castor, Cygnus, Polaris or Cepheus. Hey, that rhymes with Fetus, too!"

She looked at him in shock. "First," she said, now sitting up in bed and wide-awake, "I would never, ever name a baby Cepheus!"

Draco started laughing and said, "I just threw that one on there for a laugh. Perhaps Scorpious. That's a nice constellation name."

"Are you being serious," she asked. "No one in their right mind would saddle a baby with a name like Scorpious. Not even in a fairy tale!"

"Sirius is a constellation name. So is Draco, so is Andromeda," Draco pointed out.

"So was Bellatrix," Hermione said. That shut him right up, but only for a moment.

"I really, really want to keep with my family tradition. Won't you just consider a few of the names I picked out? Please?" he asked.

"I do think Gemma and Hydra are pretty, as well as Carina," she said.

"Are we having a girl?" he asked.

She smiled, punched her pillow, went to lie back down and said, "Maybe."

"Damn, Hermione! I didn't want to know!" He punched his pillow and fell back in frustration. A loud crack of thunder sounded overhead and he secretly smiled. Wow, a baby girl. A little Hermione. He touched her arm and she opened her eyes again. "Are we having a girl?"

Hermione nodded and said, "Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, of course. There's plenty of time for us to have a little Cygnus or Polaris," he said.

"NO Polaris!" she said. She smiled, leaned over, kissed his lips and said, "Now, Aquilla and I have to get back to sleep." Before he could say anything about her choice of names she said, "I'm just trying different names on for size, okay?"

Draco nodded and turned to his back. Now he had a new host of worries. A girl. A little baby girl. Heaven help him.

Ever since Draco fell in love with Hermione five years ago, his life had changed for the better. Even when they faced troubles and tribulations, he had her by his side, so his life was complete, and now with a child on the way, their life would only get better.

Hermione was still teaching at Hogwarts, although she was taking a sabbatical, at the insistence of both their families, to prepare for their child. Draco, who had been working at St. Mungo's as their junior Potion Maker was also back at Hogwarts teaching. He wanted to take a sabbatical as well, but he really didn't have an excuse to take one, unlike Hermione, who had been having a very difficult pregnancy from the start.

She had terrible morning sickness during her first trimester, and almost suffered a miscarriage twice. This was their first child, and the first grandchild for both families, so everyone wanted to be sure that Hermione's baby was born healthy. In order to keep her family and her husband happy, she agreed to take some time off from teaching, to prepare for their first baby.

They lived in a big old house in Hogsmeade, making Draco close by whenever she needed him. Don lived nearby as well. He was forever their 'big brother' and protector, and though they were no longer in any danger, Draco knew that Don would never let his guard down. He took his role as protector very seriously, as did his brothers.

Nick Boot made a prophecy several years ago that the child of Hermione and Draco, who would be a descendent of three of the four founders, would someday be the saviour of the Wizarding World, much like Harry Potter was. No one knew exactly what that prophecy meant, but they knew it was important enough that the Boot's own mother, Helena, tried to stop Draco and Hermione from even marrying, going so far as to try to kill Hermione. Even with the woman dead, and her daughter in prison, the Boots would protect this child with their lives.

Draco thought it was a bunch of malarkey. No one else knew of this prophecy, besides his father and mother, the Boots and their father, Harry Potter, and Bill and Ron Weasley. No one would hurt their baby, would they? Still, perhaps it was better that Hermione took some time off from school, and that she was carefully watched. It seemed that all of the other times when trouble had sought them out, were times when they thought they were safe from harm.

Draco's own father had hired men to watch over his wife and unborn child. Draco hadn't told Hermione of this, because he knew she would not be pleased. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had reformed the Order of the Phoenix for the exact same purpose. Harry knew the power of prophecy, and the extent some people would go to stop them, so even if it appeared that danger was behind them, and out of reach, it was probably for the best that Hermione and their baby girl were so well protected.

Their baby girl. They were having a baby girl. Draco still couldn't believe it.

**Something is a foot with a Boot:**

Amidst the rain, the soft breathing of his wife, and the sounds of silence, Draco heard the distinct noise of someone Apparating into his house. Only a handful of people could get around the wards, all of them friends, none of them foes. He looked down at Hermione, who had fallen back to sleep, and he got out of bed. He picked up his slacks from the chair beside the bed, pulled them over his legs, and went toward the hall. He saw Don Boot walking toward him.

"What in the blazes is going on, Don? It's almost 4 in the morning," Draco said.

"We've got trouble, and there's no time to wait. Nick and Paul are downstairs, come with me." Don ran down the stairs, followed by Draco. Sure enough, in their living room, Don's brother Nick was pacing back and forth. Paul was sitting anxiously on the couch.

The brothers were a study of contrast. Don was stockier than his younger half brothers. He had brown eyes, light brown hair, like his younger brother Terry, which he wore to his shoulders. He always had a days worth of beard growing on his face. He was smart, considerate, funny and affectionate.

His brother Nick, the next oldest, was the tallest and had piercing blue eyes. He had long, light sandy-colour hair. He wore it parted on the side, and his face never had any whiskers. He was a gifted clairvoyant; and he was engaged to be married. He was funny and easily amused. He was the brother with the closest relationship to Hermione.

Their younger brother was easily the most enigmatic of the group. Draco sometimes didn't know what to make of him, and he was never certain if he truly liked the man. He took after his and Nick's mother in looks, and since he hated the dead woman almost as much as he hated the former Dark Lord, it was hard to find a peace with Paul. Even after two years, he found it hard to forgive him for the pain he inflicted on Hermione, even if he was under the Imperius curse at the time. He had short, almost black hair. His eyes were a sparkling, light blue. He was tall and well built and everyone naturally thought he was one of the most handsome men they had ever met. Hermione had easily forgiven him for the trouble he caused, since he wasn't responsible. Still, Draco mostly kept him at arm's length, but he knew with the Boot brothers, if you got one, you got them all.

"What's going on here? Why are you three in my home this early in the morning?"

Don looked to Nick to explain. Nick took a deep breath and said, "Ellen, our half-sister, escaped from Azkaban last weekend. We have been trying hard to locate her, along with the Brotherhood of the Raven, and the Ministry. Even the Order of the Phoenix is searching for her. Believe me; none of us want her to try to continue with our mother's earlier pursuits."

"How did she escape?" Draco asked, slightly worried for the women who slept upstairs, the women who held his heart.

"Only we know for sure, and we will tell you that in a moment," Paul said, standing. "We told Harry Potter the truth, but no one else at the Ministry. The Ministry doesn't want our mother's followers to find out about Ellen, so the Aurors, including Harry, have been sworn to secrecy. They are afraid that her followers will come out of hiding, and start to follow Ellen as their new leader. However, we hope we can find her before that happens."

Nick spoke, "The thing is Draco, I have never been able to see Ellen clearly, not the way I see others. It's odd, because usually my clairvoyance works better with family and with people whom I love, but I've never been able to see her. That's why I never knew she even existed until two years ago."

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked.

Don approached him and said, "You aren't doing anything. We are. We have a lead. There was an ancient text written by Rowena Ravenclaw. It has many spells of her own making, most of them never even put into practice. This text was handed down from generation to generation, and was protected by a certain sect of the Brotherhood, but it was stolen, just days before Ellen's so called disappearance. The men whose job it was to protect the text were killed. We believe someone took it to her and that she used it to escape."

"So she has some musty old book? So what? How would a book help her escape, anyway?" Draco asked. He walked around the living room. This was the other shoe dropping, and he was angry about it.

"Draco," Nick started, "The book contains a spell that is capable of producing time travel. Unlike a time turner, or the locket I gave Hermione that could produced time travel on a different plane in your own mind, this spell is believed to place people back in time, but not their bodies, just their minds and consciousness. That's why we know Ellen used the spell. You see, we've already found her body. "

"Is this the only spell in this book?" Draco asked.

"No, but it's the only spell we believe she is interested in," Nick said. Seeing the look of confusion on Draco's face, he continued. "We believe it because we have proof that our mother used the spell in front o f her before. She also instructed Ellen to use that spell, to avenge her if she should be killed."

"Ellen revealed this to us under Veritiserum two years ago when she was arrested," Paul said. He was the only one of the brothers who worked for the Ministry. "No one else knows what was in her confession, because the records were sealed. However, I was present, because, well, they made me take Veritiserum as well, to prove my innocence."

Draco hadn't known that. Paul added, "I know you still don't fully trust me, but Draco, my commitment to protect the last heirs of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, and the child that Hermione is carrying, is just as strong as my brother's commitment. I would never knowingly hurt you or Hermione. I love you both."

Draco sighed and tried to take it all in. "Where is her body now? Where is she going? I mean, do we know what time she is going back to?"

Nick looked at Don. Don said, "Yes, we know, because we had a trace on her. One the Ministry doesn't know about. When our father realized that Nick couldn't read or sense anything about Ellen, he decided, unlawfully, to place a magical trace on her. This trace is special. Different than the trace the Ministry uses. This trace doesn't follow a person's body. It can follow a person's mind. Their intent. Only a gifted seer can use this type of trace." Nick raised his hand. "We know exactly what time she went to, because I have already followed her there, but I lost her. Paul and I are about to go back, but we wanted to let you know first."

"I can pick up on Don's thoughts, even across time and space. I assume it's because of our blood, and perhaps because we are males. I can even communicate back to him, but only when he is in a dream state. I think that the fact that Ellen is a female is why I cannot read her without the trace. I could never read our mother very well either, although I could to an extent, and for some reason, I can read you and Hermione, even though you aren't related to us."

"Cut to the chase, how did you follow her?' Draco asked Don.

"Don used the same spell, and traveled to the same time, and sure enough, he found her the first day," Nick said. "Through the trace, I could sense that she was gone the minute she left, and Paul went to check Azkaban, and sure enough, only her body was there. The ministry had her body transported to our father's house immediately, as Paul and I are next of kin. This is beyond their realm of expertise. The just want it kept quiet. They don't care if she is found, as long as no one knows she is missing. You see, our father, under the watchful gaze of the Ministry, is protecting her body as we speak. I read her intentions by placing my hands on her body. It's empty, but it's still a vessel that connects her to this time."

"I followed her using the same spell, but she alluded me. We believe she's still there, because she has no means to return," Don said.

"There's no counter spell?" Draco asked.

Nick smiled and said, "Rowena was smart, remember. She wouldn't put the counter spells in the same tome. There's another book, a book that was protected by a different sect of the Brotherhood, which has all of the counter spells. We don't believe Ellen knew of its existence. We don't think she cares if she ever returns. She wants her revenge, and that's all."

"How will going back in time give her revenge for her mother's death?" Draco asked.

Don looked once more to his brothers, and then said, "Well, if she managed to make sure Hermione died in the past, then Hermione couldn't kill Helena in the future."

Draco felt panicked. "She wants to kill Hermione?"

"Yes, we believe so." Nick said. "We also think she wants to stop my prophecy about your unborn child. Don't worry, though, we won't let her. Paul and Don are both going back and they will find her and stop her. I'll stay here and communicate with them. I'll try to let them know where she is. Their minds are the only thing that will travel back in time. While their bodies will stay here, their present minds will inhabit their bodies from the past."

"So a person can only travel under this spell within their own lifetime?" Draco asked.

**Hermione's Listening:**

"Yes, sort of like a Quantum Leap," Hermione said, as she walked down their stairs from the spot where she had been listening. She walked toward the men and said, "It's a Muggle physics theory. A theory developed from quantum mechanics based on the assumption that elementary particles interact through the influence of fields around them and the exchange of energy. It's a theory that goes against the theory of relativity, because it assumes elementary particles, atoms, the like, can exist on different elementary planes, at the same time. It's the theory of time travel, which Muggles have never been able to prove, but which we as Wizards know exist."

Draco sat on the couch and said, "Why do you always have to listen to other people's conversations?"

"Draco," Hermione started, "If someone wants to kill me in the past, or harm our child, don't you think I have a right to know?" Hermione placed her hand on her swollen stomach and sat on his lap. She looked at Don and said, "You are going to go stop her, right?"

"Yes, we're leaving immediately, but we've come to you to ask for your help," Paul said. "We need to leave our bodies here. Nick needs to be able to communicate with us, unencumbered by the Ministry, and the Brotherhood, whom we don't intend to tell. We aren't completely certain that there isn't a breach in the Brotherhood, like there was before. Someone might have 'given' Ellen that book. We can't trust anyone but ourselves, after all, protecting you and Draco and little junior there is our destiny."

"Junior is a Juniorette," Hermione said. Everyone smiled.

Don looked at Draco and said, "A little girl, huh, Draco. I don't envy you, yet I do. Now we have even more reason to find her, for little Juniorette."

"That's fine and dandy, except for one thing. I'm going with you," Draco said. "I will not sit back and have the future of my wife and child affected by this mad woman."

"Draco, we're talking about more than your own future. If Ellen succeeds, that means that Helena will not be killed. You and Hermione will have never fallen in love. You will never fulfill the prophecy of the Founders heirs. The souls of Helga and Salazar will never be reunited. We are talking about all of our futures." Don continued, "You want to make it personal, and that will get in the way. You will stay here, besides, believe me, you don't want to go back to the time Ellen went back to."

"What time did she go back to?" Hermione asked.

Don sighed and took Hermione's hand. He said, "Your sixth year at Hogwarts."

Draco felt heaviness in his chest. Besides what happened to him and Hermione two years ago, and what happened two years prior to that, when they went back to Hogwarts to finish their schooling after the war, sixth year was the worst year of his life.

"Why would she pick that year?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Nick answered for the brothers. "But she did, and we have to get Paul and Don there immediately."

"NO!" Draco said standing. "I still want to go." He turned to Hermione and said, "Understand something, Hermione. I have to go. I can't trust this to someone else. Please, I have to go."

Don placed his hand on Draco's shoulder and said, "Draco, you will still have to carry out the same things you did that year. You will be in your 16-year-old body, with your present mind and memories. You can't alter the past without altering the future. Do you really think you could do the same things you did that year? Why would you want to?"

Draco didn't want to. He didn't know if he could, but he still had to try it. He said, "Hermione, you've given me so much. I have to do this for you, for us. I have to go."

"I understand," she said. Draco thought there would be a big fight. "But you understand something, Draco Malfoy. If you don't come back, I'm going back to fifth year, and I will kick your arse."

Draco smiled and held his wife close. Don said, "I guess it's you and I, Draco."

As they prepared one of the guestrooms to perform the incantation, Don fretted over every little thing. He kept repeating instructions to Draco. Finally, Draco said, "FINE! Shut up already. We can't alter anything. We can't tell anyone. We have to do everything the same. I will know Hermione's my wife, but she won't know me. I know already!"

"Fine," Don said, with a frown. He laid on one of the twin beds in the room and Draco laid on the other. Hermione leaned over Draco and kissed his lips. She said, "Come back to me, Draco."


	3. Part III

All characters belong to JKR

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_A/N: I was without internet and cable TV for five days, or else I would have posted this by now. At least the lack of visional entertainment gave me plenty of time to write. I have seven chapters of this story typed, and nine written. Thanks!_

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**Part III:**

**Diagon Alley:**

Draco was confused as to where he had arrived. He was in a robe shop, and a woman was pinning a new robe on him. He looked around and suddenly, he knew right where he was. Madam Malkin's robe shop. It was right before the start of sixth year, and he was with his mother getting new dress robes, which meant one thing. Hermione, Harry and Ron would soon appear. He felt nauseated. Where was Don? He supposed that Don was transported to wherever his body was at the time. How old would Don be, if Draco was only 16?

"Draco, you look ill, Darling, are you okay?" his mother asked.

She looked pretty much the same as she did in the future. He swallowed hard and said, "Yes, I think I was stuck by a pin."

"Watch what you are doing, woman," his mother retorted to the woman pinning Draco's robes.

Draco heard the door open and in walked a younger Hermione, Harry and Ron. My god, his wife was beautiful. He was staring at her. Weasley said, "What are you staring at, Ferret?"

"Watch who you are calling names, boy," his mother stated.

Draco remembered that he had made a comment back then about the smell and Mudbloods, but he just couldn't say it. He couldn't. Nevertheless, he had to. He couldn't alter the past. He said, "If you are wondering what that smell is mother, a Mudblood just came in the store."

"There's no need to use that word," the woman working on his robe said.

Harry and Draco's mother started to exchange heated words about Draco's father and prison, and Death Eaters, and Dumbledore, but Draco didn't hear a word. He was staring at Hermione. Suddenly, Potter drew his wand on his mother. He remembered that.

"No wands in my store," Madam Malkin said.

Hermione placed her hand on Harry's arm and said, "Put your wand away, Harry. You don't want to cause trouble." Draco was still staring at her. She looked up at him, blushed scarlet, and grabbed Weasley's arm, as he too was withdrawing his wand.

Draco felt a rush of jealousy. Weasley said, "Stop staring at her, Malfoy!"

"Who blackened your eye?" Draco asked. He remembered asking that in the past, but not really waiting for an answer, because back then he didn't care. This time, he was really concerned. He wasn't sure Hermione had ever told him the story of why she had a black eye. Who hit Hermione in the eye?

Ron said, "Like you care."

Draco tried to recover his shock by saying what he said back then, if he could remember. He said, "I just wanted to send them some flowers, for hitting the Mudblood. Let's go get our robes elsewhere, Mother," Draco said, without much conviction. He remembered that they left the shop that day, and while he couldn't remember if it was his suggestion or his mother's suggestion that they leave, he didn't think it mattered. His worries were focused elsewhere. He had to find Don Boot, and then, to his dismay, he had to go to Borgin and Burkes and arrange for Borgin to sell him the magical cabinet. Draco felt lightheaded again as he tore the robes off his body, the pins sticking him.

He rushed to the door, not looking back. His mother called out, "We need to go to Twilfitts and Tattings for robes, Draco!"

Once outside he told his mother, "I'll catch up with you later, Mother." He ran toward Knockturn Alley, confused and afraid, and suddenly under the impression that it was a bad idea that he returned to his past.

Draco felt out of breath. Perhaps Don was right. He couldn't do this. He couldn't relive this year. He couldn't go back to being cruel to Hermione. He couldn't go through with trying to kill their Headmaster. They had to find Ellen quickly. He was still running down the dark, dirty maze of Knockturn Alley when a hand reached out and pulled him into an abandoned building.

Draco drew his wand and Don said, "Put your wand away, Draco."

Draco almost didn't recognize the man. He was younger, slimmer, and his hair was shorter. Draco said, "Do I look younger, too?" He moved over to a window, and looked at his reflection.

"Your body is 16, Draco," Don said.

"Where do we start?" Draco asked, impatiently.

"We start by you doing what you did back then, and go on to Hogwarts. I figure we have to tell at least one person here. I think we should tell Severus Snape. Only he knows about the job Voldemort asked you to do. He took the pact with your mother to carry the job out if you couldn't, and in fact, we know that is what he did. We know that he was loyal to Dumbledore, and was never loyal to the Dark Lord. He is the most likely choice, if for no other reason than the fact that he doesn't live to see the future. I don't think he will ask any questions, either. I need to try to get a job at Hogwarts. Perhaps an apprenticeship with Snape or Slughorn. I will do that now, talk to Snape and try to get a job there. You do what you have to do, and we will meet up at Hogwarts, first day of school."

"NO!" Draco shouted. "Let's just get this over with. Find Ellen and stop her!"

"We will, Draco, but it leads to Hogwarts. Nick traced her to there. I can communicate to Nick, but he won't really be able to communicate with me, except in my dreams at night. Right now, the most we know is that she is going to Hogwarts, so we will go to Hogwarts. She may not be herself. She may be using Polyjuice potion, or has altered her looks somehow. She might have even leaped into somebody else. The most important thing is that we keep Hermione safe. Agreed?"

Draco crumpled to the ground, sitting with his back against the wall. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You can. I have faith in you. I think you are the best choice for this. I wanted you to be the one to come with me from the beginning, but Nick and Paul were afraid you would become too emotional." Don put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. He said, "What did you do here in the past after you left the robe shop?"

"I went to Borgin and Burkes."

"Then go there now," Don said. "I'll contact you one way or the other the first day of school. I will have already talked to Snape by then. Keep your chin up. I'll watch out for Hermione until you get to school, okay?"

Draco could only nod. Don left him and he finally stood and walked out the door. He looked to his left and saw the sign to 'Borgin and Burkes'. He entered the shop, knowing that Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and his wife, Hermione Granger, would soon follow him.

**Knockturn Alley:**

Draco had heard the story from Hermione many times. He knew that she and the two gits were under the invisibility cloak, listening to him. He tried to recreate his conversation about the cabinet with Borgin, telling him only what the man needed to know. He paid him money to keep the cabinet in their shop safe. He gave him more money to make sure he would take care of giving the poisoned necklace to the right person at the right time. He felt sick and like he was having an outer body experience, plotting the death of his Headmaster again.

Draco left the shop. In the past, he left and met his mother. This time, he waited and hid behind another shop. He saw Hermione enter the shop. He knew that she had gone in to try to find out what he was doing there. He remembered that story as well. He smiled when he thought about how brave she was. Not yet 17-years-old, yet brave and true and smart. He saw her come back out and tell the other members of the golden trio that she was not successful.

Then, he saw them all turn back toward Diagon Alley. However, Weasley and Harry went toward Ron's brother's store, but Hermione held back. Why did she hold back? He didn't think she held back the first time they lived through this moment.

Then the unthinkable happened. He turned the corner to enter Diagon Alley, and he felt the tip of a wand pointed at his back. He knew at once that it was she. This was a turn of events he hadn't expected. This didn't happen the first time. Of course, the first time, he didn't hide out and watch them, either. He was already changing the course of events, and he didn't even mean to.

He turned around and said, "Point that thing somewhere else, Granger. You might poke me in the eye. By the way, how did you blacken your eye, anyway?"

"Cut the crap, Malfoy, like you care about my eye. Why are you following us?" she asked.

He leaned against the wall of an owl emporium, and folded his arms. He said, "Why are you following me?"

"We aren't following you," she said.

He spread out his hands and said, "Yet here you and I are. One of us is following the other one."

"We know you are up to something," she said.

"I know you do," he said, leaning toward her. God, she was so pretty. She looked so young and fresh. He suddenly said, "You aren't yet 17 are you?" He felt slightly lecherous having impure thoughts about his underage wife, even if he was currently only 16 himself. She would be of age soon, he knew. He was glad of that fact, because in his mind, he was a man, and she was the woman he loved.

"No, I turn 17 in a couple of weeks," she said. She felt confused. She had never had a normal conversation with Draco Malfoy, and yet, here they were, having what was almost a normal conversation, except for the fact that she still had her wand pointed at him.

He seemed just to have noticed that as well. He placed his hand around her wand and pulled it easily from her grasp. He looked at if for a moment and then said, "Do you want this back."

"No, I want you to keep it, Stupid," she said defiantly.

See, this was what he remembered. He always liked bickering with her, antagonizing her, when they were young. Back then, he did it to goad her. Now, he did it because she seemed so cute when she had a red face and was angry. He held it high above her head and said, "If you can reach it, you can have it back."

She held out her hand and said, "Just give me my wand, Malfoy."

He smiled again. He said, "No, you know my conditions. Jump for it."

"What? You are mad," she said. "I'll go get Harry."

"I have to tell you something, and believe me, this will not be the first time I ever say this to you, but I'm not afraid of Harry Potter," Draco said, leaning down toward her. She smelled so sweet, like lemon-lime and fresh soap.

Ron Weasley walked out of his brother's shop and called her name. Suddenly, Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down Knockturn Alley. He pushed her against the wall and he saw genuine fear on her face.

Yes, he remembered that look well. She used to hate him, after all. He just never knew she feared him. He handed her back her wand, but kept his body flushed against hers. His heart raced in his chest, as her breathing hitched in her throat. He said, "Be careful, Granger. There are many dangerous people out there. Don't go off alone. Stay with Potter or Weasel at all times, do you understand?"

She looked more scared than before. She must think that he was threatening her, but he could live with that, as long as she didn't venture out alone. He raised his voice and asked, "Do you hear me? Tell me you hear me!"

"I hear you!" she said frantically. He looked down and noticed that while she had taken a hold of her wand, he still had a hold of the other end.

He let it go and said, "Be a good little girl and go with Potter and Weaselbee. Go now, Hermione. Go now!"

Hermione heard Ron calling her name again, but she turned toward Draco. She said, "You called me Hermione."

Draco rushed up to her and grabbed her wrist again. He pushed her rougher than he meant to, back up against the wall. He placed his hard body next to her soft one. He saw another look of fear, but he didn't care. Fear would keep her on her toes. Fear would keep her alive. He said, "No I didn't! Why would I call you Hermione? I said, Granger! You are imagining things, Mudblood." He hated being so cruel to her, but he did slip up and call her Hermione, and he had to rectify the situation. She wrenched her wrist from his grip, ran out of the mouth of the alley, looked back at him once, and then ran into the arms of Ron Weasley.

Draco stood in the shadows, and heard him say, "Are you alright, Hermione?"

"Fine, Ron, I'm fine," she said.

She walked with him into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Draco leaned back against the wall and tried hard to catch his breath. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done. How was he going to go back to hating Hermione Granger, when he loved her more than life itself?

**Back at Draco and Hermione's house:**

Harry Potter was angry. He couldn't believe the Boot brothers would do such a foolish thing. He agreed that this was beyond the realms of what the Ministry could control, but still, they were being reckless. Draco Malfoy would never be able to relive that year. He hadn't become actual friends with Draco in the five years that he and Hermione had been in love, but neither did he hate the man any longer. Draco and he had many long talks about that eventful year. He knew Draco was a person that was ruled by emotions, and he feared for Draco's safety, and for the safety of his best friend.

Hermione told Harry what happened, and what Draco and Don had done. She was at that moment sitting on the bed where Draco's empty body laid, holding his hand, talking soothingly to a body that had no consciousness, and couldn't hear a thing she was saying.

However, Harry could hear her, and it broke his heart.

"Oh, and your mother and father think that you took that internship with St Mungo's satellite branch in Austria. I told them you would be gone for six weeks," she said to her husband's body. "I also told Minerva the same lie. I know you might, in theory, be gone longer than that, but I couldn't tell them any longer, because they would be upset if they thought that you would be gone past my due date. I do hope you are back by then."

She continued, "Nick explained that time might not mean the same thing in the past as it does in the future. He said a person might live a whole lifetime in a mere blink of an eye here. He said it was an unexplored field of magic. I think when this whole thing is behind us, we should study this time travel thing a bit more. Nick wants to do that, too. Don't you think that would be interesting?"

"I told Minerva that I would not be returning at all this year. I know I was set to go back, after the baby was born, and I know it won't do any good, me just sitting around here holding your hand, but Nick thinks it is best as well. He seems to think that he will know when Ellen tries to kill the me in the past, and he said when she does, he will just whisk me away to another time. I don't know how that will work, but I have to trust him. The Boot's have never done anything to hurt us in the past, so we have to trust them with our future, don't we?"

Harry couldn't take it much longer. He finally said, "Do you expect him to answer you, Hermione?"

She stood up and walked over to Harry and said, "No, but I'm talking to him to help my peace of mind, not his, okay?"

"I should have been the one that went back, not him!" Harry shouted.

"Oh, my gosh, that would so not have worked!" she said, and then she laughed. "You would have probably walked right up to Voldemort, said, 'I know about the Horcruxes you great prat,' and tried to take him out right then, saving Dumbledore's life, but in the meanwhile, altering the future so much that nothing would be the same."

"Wow, you really think little of me, don't you?" he asked.

"No, I think quite highly of you, and you know it," she said. Hermione sat back down on the bed and took Draco's hand in one of hers, and reached for Harry's hand with the other. Harry clasped her hand.

"Trust him, Harry. He will succeed with this. I know he will. I feel it in my soul," she said. "He has a lot at stake you know. His wife and his baby."

Harry knew that, and that was what worried him. He lifted Hermione off the bed and held her tight. "I don't want to lose you, or him, the stupid idiot."

"I know, I don't either."

Harry leaned closer to the body of Draco Malfoy and said, "Malfoy, you better not botch things up!"

"He can't hear you, Harry," she joked, telling him what he told her.

"I'm talking to him for myself, is that alright with you?" he said, repeating her answer. She leaned against his body, and he put his arm around her. In his mind, he repeated it once more…'don't screw up, Malfoy, just don't screw up.'


	4. Part IV

All characters belong to JKR

**Part IV:**

**The Train Ride from Hell**:

Riding the train to Hogwarts wasn't something he ever enjoyed, and this time, he liked it even less. Draco sat in a compartment with all his old Slytherin cronies and he felt disgusted that this was once his life. Crabbe and Goyle were talking about how they just tripped a little Gryffindor second year. Pansy Parkinson was trashing the way the Patil twins wore their hair. Theodore Nott was making fun of little red, Potter's current wife, and at that exact moment, Blaise Zabini had just returned to the car after having been invited to Professor Slughorn's car, and he was happily telling everyone what had occurred.

"Who else was there?" Pansy asked.

"Some Gryffindor trash, McLaggin, I believe is his name, and Longbottom the buffoon was there, along with that young Weasley girl. Of course, Potter and Granger were there."

"Weaselbee wasn't there?" Draco asked. He really never knew whether Ron was a part of the 'Slug Club' or not, but just knowing that this was the year that Hermione spent pining for the red-headed weasel caused him to feel a slight, no, a large twinge of jealousy.

"No, I guess he's not worthy enough," Zabini said in that haughty tone that he often had.

"Did Granger's hair look as frightful as usual?" Pansy asked with a laugh.

"I didn't really notice," Blaise answered.

Draco stood up suddenly and said, "I've had enough of this." He started out of the door and then asked, "Shouldn't we be going to the prefects meeting, anyway?" He directed this question to Zabini, who gave him a funny look.

"Have you forgotten, Draco?" Blaise asked. "You turned your prefect badge in. You said you wouldn't have time for such childish nonsense this year. Remember? It all just happened a week ago."

Everyone laughed. Draco had forgotten that. He placed his hand on left his arm, remembering that he had just taken the dark mark a few weeks before school. Now his mood was even blacker, if that was possible. He opened the door and stormed into the narrow hallway.

He noticed how people stared at him as he past them. He had forgotten how others had perceived him. Frankly, he wasn't aware of their stares back then. He really didn't care, _back then_. He cared now, but now he would just have to pretend that it didn't bother him.

He walked all the way back to the luggage car. He needed some time to think. He needed to be alone. He knew that soon Potter would enter the Slytherin car under his invisibility coat, and he would have to talk about the task the Dark Lord set him to do, and then he would have to use the Petrificus Totalus curse on Potter, and break his nose. Though his disdain for Potter was only slightly less than it was back then, he didn't want to hurt him.

His mood just got blacker and blacker. In fact, he was so deep in his dark thoughts, and feelings of dread, that when he opened the back door of the passenger car to enter the front doors of the luggage car, he almost didn't see her there. He stumbled over her leg, as she sat against the wall, just inside the luggage car.

He turned quickly, withdrew his wand, and then saw Hermione, sitting on the ground, her wand pointing at him. He lit his wand to offer more light and said, "What are you doing on the ground," and then for good measure, he added, "Mudblood?"

"It's none of your concern, Malfoy," she said. She pulled her knees up to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. It looked as if she might have been crying. Draco cursed the fact that he couldn't pull her into his arms and comfort her.

He went to the other side of the car, and sat down, mimicking her body. He looked toward her, though, instead of toward the wall. Her head turned to look at him and she asked, "What are you doing?"

"You didn't tell me what you were doing, so why should I tell you, Muddy?" Draco said.

"It's getting old, you know," Hermione said.

"What is?" Draco asked. He felt he was the only thing getting old.

"That word and all of its derivatives. It's getting old and it's not very creative. Perhaps you could come up with a new nickname for me this year," she said, snidely.

Draco couldn't help when a ghost of a smile graced his face. He loved her spunk and tenacity. She was fearless, as well. His nickname for her was 'Little one', but he could hardly call her that, could he? He said, "How about Dirty one? Mud bucket? Horsehair? Take your pick." He hoped she could tell he wasn't serious, but since this was the Draco of the past talking to the Hermione of the past, she probably did think he was serious.

When she said, "I like Mud Bucket," he almost split his side with laughter. He started laughing and almost couldn't stop. She smiled at him and then turned her head, to hide her smile.

He finally stopped laughing and he said, "You're a riot, Granger. But I think I will decide your nickname."

"What is it, then?" she asked.

"That's my secret," he said, adding, 'little one' in his head. "So, I hear you had tea in Slughorn's compartment."

"Zabini told you?" she asked.

"Of course," he answered.

"Jealous?" she asked.

"Completely," he said sarcastically. He straightened out his legs and crossed his legs at the ankles. His feet were almost touching hers. He said, "Did you hear I wasn't a prefect any longer?"

"I saw you weren't at the meeting," she said.

"You noticed me, aye?" he asked, with a smirk.

"I noticed you weren't there," she corrected.

"Same thing," he said.

"Not hardly," she answered crisply.

"Why are you hiding here?" he asked.

"Why are you?" she asked.

"Is this questions only?" he asked.

"No, it's not," she answered. "I just wanted some peace and quiet, which I guess I can't find here, so I'll go." She got up on her knees and then slowly she got up to her feet. He stood as well.

Hermione turned to walk out the door, but Draco reached out for her. He knew it was madness, but he wanted, no, he needed, to touch her.

As soon as his hand touched her arm, she turned with her wand again. She had him pressed against the wall of the train in no time flat. He looked at her wand, then at her face, and again, he smiled.

"Don't touch me, Malfoy!" she said. "I heard your warning in Diagon Alley. I am on my toes."

"Nicely done," he said. "And you need to be aware."

"I know it was you!" she suddenly said.

He was confused. "What was me?" he asked.

**Train Ride from Hell, Part II:**

"Leave me be, or you'll be sorry!" she said back. "I know you came in here to see if it affected me, but I want you to know that it didn't! Your little note didn't scare me either, and neither did being pushed down the train station stairs earlier."

Draco's gaze narrowed and he said, "I didn't push you down the stairs at the station! I don't push girls around!" Even when he was a teenager that was the truth. He was never violent toward girls. It was then that he took a good look at her. Surprising her, he brought out his wand and lit it again. He examined her face more closely, as it hovered so near his. She had a small scratch on her cheek. He looked down and saw that the knee of her jeans was torn.

She didn't move, almost as if she was frozen, as he bent down and placed the lit wand nearer to her knee. He saw some dried blood on her jeans. He stood back up and said, "When were you pushed!"

"You should know, you pushed me," she said. She reached in her pants pocket, and shoved a piece of folded parchment in his hand. She walked quickly to the door and said, "If you dare give me another note like that, I will report you, Malfoy!" She opened the door and left.

He opened the note, read it, and then balled it in his fist and then he hit the wall as hard as he could. He held his busted hand in his other hand and stormed out of the compartment, shoving the note, which said, "You are about to die, Mudblood," into his pocket. Damn!

He swung the door open and ran through the connector between the two cars quickly to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and swung her around.

"How did you get this note?" he asked.

"Stop this!" she barked, removing her arm from his hand. "You know how I got it!"

"I did not write this! I did not give it to you and most of all, I did not push you down the stairs. I don't care what you think, Granger, but I don't pick on little girls!"

"I'm not a little girl," she said.

"Yes, you really are," he said, pressing his body up against hers, and staring down at her. She was practically the same height she was in the future, so she had to crane her neck up to look at him. He wasn't quite as tall, but he was still much taller than she was. He grabbed her chin and said, "How did you get this note?"

She was shaking and her pulse was rapid, he could tell. He moved so his body was no longer up against hers, but he kept his hand under her chin. She finally spoke. "I was coming down the stairs of the train station, right before our platform, and someone pushed me. I felt a hand on my back and a push. I fell down the remaining two steps, scraped my cheek on the wall and landed on my knee. When I stood up, this note was lying on top of my satchel."

"Who was around you?" Draco asked, now letting go of her chin.

She didn't answer for a moment. She gave him a quizzical look, and then she looked down the corridor one way, then the other. She wasn't sure if this was real or a dream. He placed his index finger back under her chin, gently this time, to draw her attention back to him. She felt a constriction in her chest at the way he touched her so familiarly. He asked again, "Who was around you?"

"No one that I recognized," she said.

"So you blame me?" he asked softly.

"Well," she started, "You did warn me off you two weeks ago, back at Knockturn Alley."

"I didn't warn you away from me. I warned you to be careful, and to watch your back, and I will repeat that warning to you now, Hermione." He moved his finger across her jaw, in an intimate gesture, one he knew he shouldn't do, but was powerless to stop. He moved his hand to her neck. He felt her rapid pulse. He kept his hand on her neck, and leaned his face closer as he said, "Please be careful. Stay with Potter and Weasley at all times. Believe it or not, I don't want anything to ever happen to you."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER, MALFOY!" Harry yelled from the other end of the train. Harry, followed by Ron, came running down the aisle, wands at the ready, toward Hermione and Draco. Draco backed away, and drew his wand.

Hermione felt confused, but she placed her hand on Harry's chest and said, "I'm fine, Harry."

Harry pushed Hermione behind him and Ron did the same. Ron said, "We know you are the one that pushed her at the station! Touch her again, and you die!"

Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Please." Then he put his wand away and said, "You're stupid, Weasel! If I wanted to hurt someone, I wouldn't push him or her down the stairs. Besides, if I had wanted to cause her harm I would have done something a moment ago when we were alone in the luggage car." Draco saw the shocked look on the other man's face and he said, "That's right, we were alone in the luggage car, and all we did was kiss."

Draco smiled as Hermione came in front of Ron, her wand now pointed at his chest, and she said, "Tell them that's not true, Malfoy!"

"I don't kiss and tell, Granger." He pushed past them all and didn't look back. He just hoped she would heed his warning.

**After the Train Ride:**

Draco went back to his car, made up a story about how he just had a run in with the golden trio (it was partially true) and everyone laughed. He waited for the moment when he remembered that Potter probably entered with the invisibility cloak, and then he told everyone in the car how he had a special task to do for the Dark Lord. When the train came to a stop, he left with the others, just as he had done in the past.

He came back in the compartment, pointed his wand at the space where Potter was, uttered the Petrificus Totalus curse, and then pulled the cloak off him. Unlike the first time, he didn't break Potter's nose. Instead, he gave him the warning he gave him the first time, to the best of his memory, and then he added one thing. "Watch over the Mudblood. She's in more danger than you realize, and not from me. Don't let her go off on her own, or she might be killed. I am very serious about this, Potter! Her life is in your hands." Draco decided it wouldn't hurt the little sneak to kick him once in the side, so he did, just not as hard as he would have liked.

Potter always was a self-righteous prick. Draco would hold this 16-year-old Potter personally responsible if something happened to Hermione, and if it did, he would go back to the future and kick the older Potter's arse.

Draco was distracted during the entire opening feast. Potter never showed up. Draco couldn't recall if he did in the past or not. He saw a familiar face when the Headmaster introduced a new apprentice for potions, a Professor Don Boot. Don stood up and his eyes darted to the Ravenclaw table, where his brother Terry stood up and applauded loudly. That was when Draco realized, Terry was dead in the future. He looked back quickly to his best friend Don, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. Had he forgotten that Terry would be here this year? Suddenly, Draco felt guilty that he came back, instead of letting Paul come back, because Paul would have gotten to see his brother once more, as well.

Don waved at Terry, the look of shock now replaced with a large smile, and then Don looked over at Draco, and inclined his head slightly.

Draco waited around after the feast, as long as he could. He watched as Don embraced Terry, and when Terry finally left the Great Hall, Draco walked over to Don, extending his hand, in case there were people watching.

"Hello, Professor Boot, I'm Draco Malfoy." Don took his hand and squeezed tightly.

"I knew it would be hard to see Terry, but I didn't know it would be this hard," he told Draco.

"We've been back two weeks," Draco began, "is this the first time you've seen him in the two weeks?"

"Yes, I came right to Hogwarts," Don stated. "Listen, Snape knows everything. It was hard to convince him, and I had to let him use Veritiserum on me, and Legilimency, but at least he knows I'm telling him the truth. I told him as little as possible. I just told him you and I came back to protect Hermione Granger. He really didn't ask many questions, but I would hazard to guess that he saw most of his answers when he read my mind."

"So he will help us?" Draco asked.

"No, but he won't hinder us," Don stated. "We can't change the past too much, remember that. You look like shite."

"Thanks," Draco said. "I should go, so I won't be missed." Draco turned to go, but Don called him back.

"I know it's hard, and anytime you want to go back, I can carry on myself," Don said.

"I won't go back, not until we catch her," Draco said. He started to go again, when this time he turned back. "Don, something you said in Diagon Alley has been weighing on my mind."

"What?" Don asked, as he approached Draco.

"You said that Ellen might have returned and not even entered her own body. Is that possible?" he asked.

"Very, and the most like scenario. Polyjuice potion would be difficult to obtain and continue with, and if she came back as herself, she might be recognized, because she had to realize we would return to stop her."

"Then that means she might be anyone!" Draco said frantically. "How will we stop her?" he asked.

"We will keep a watchful eye, and draw her out," Don stated.

"Will she know that you weren't really here in the past? Will she suspect that you are here to stop her?" Draco asked.

"She doesn't have any clue as to my past." Don sighed and then said, "Mother never told her a thing, and she never seemed interested in finding out anything about me, in the past, present or future. If she sees me here, she will just think I belong here. The thing that troubles me is how we will recognize her."

"What if she entered Ron or Harry?" Draco just realized. "Hermione will be in so much danger!"

"I find that unlikely, because Hermione will know them too well, and Ellen not well enough, so it would be too easy to draw suspicion if she entered a close friend. My guess would be that she entered someone from your year, perhaps someone in Gryffindor."

"That is still problematic," Draco said.

"That's an understatement," Don answered. "But, we still just have to keep our planned course and watch out for her."

"Someone assaulted her at the station," Draco said, pulling the note from his pocket. "They gave her this note. She didn't see who it was."

Don took the note but said, "How do you know this?"

Draco wouldn't tell him about their interaction in the luggage car, so he just said, "The golden trio accused me earlier, in the train."

Don read the note and then stuck it in his own pocket. He said, "Get some sleep, Draco. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and you have classes tomorrow morning."

Draco grimaced and said, "What joy."


	5. Part V

All characters belong to JKR

**Part V:**

**The First Week of Classes**:

Draco had forgotten how much he disliked school. He disliked the structure, the waking up early, the discipline, the patriarchal system, and of course, most of the people. He had forgotten how much he used to dislike Harry Potter, and the way Harry strutted around the school as if he owned the place, until he had returned.

Sitting in the Great Hall again, facing all these insipid teenagers (he was never insipid when he was young) and realizing that not a one of these so-called school friends stayed his friends later in life, made him remorseful and solemn. The whole experience was surreal. He looked over at the redheaded Weasel as he put a whole piece of toast in his mouth. He blanched and then secretly smiled as he saw Hermione look at Ron and blanch as well. How could she have ever found him attractive?

Pansy said, "Why are you staring at the Mudblood?"

"I'm staring at the Weasel and the fact that he appears to have no manners whatsoever."

"True, Draco," Blaise said. "He resembles a human rubbish bin."

Everyone laughed. Pansy placed her head on Draco's shoulder and said, "I hope we have classes together this year."

Draco already knew that they didn't have many together, but essentially, Snape had not handed out their schedules yet, so all Draco could do was to say, "Perhaps we will." Pansy placed her hand on his thigh. Draco had forgotten that this was the year they 'dated', for lack of a better word. What they really did this year was have sex occasionally. This was the year he took Pansy's virginity. Well, that was something he wouldn't be repeating, the future be damned! He wouldn't cheat on his wife, even if Hermione wasn't his wife yet.

Snape walked by their table and started to hand out their schedules. Draco didn't even look at his. He placed it in front of him, and Pansy picked it up and said, "Bloody hell, we only have two classes together."

"You should take harder classes, if you want to be in class with me," Draco remarked. He took his schedule from her and looked up, because Snape had stopped in front of him. "Yes, Sir?" Draco said.

"My office, after breakfast, Draco."

Draco looked at his schedule and said, "But I have Transfiguration with the old bat after breakfast."

"The old bat, or perhaps you should call her Professor McGonagall, will excuse you with a note, I am sure. My office, after breakfast," Snape repeated, turning, with his robes bellowing out from behind.

Blaise laughed and said, "Be careful, Draco. Don't want to ruffle too many feathers, even if you do have future plans that don't include school."

"Whatever," Draco said. His mind was elsewhere. He was trying to remember if Hermione was in any of his classes this year. It was going to be hard for him to recall every finite detail of daily events that happened seven years ago. He could barely recall what he did yesterday; let alone what he did on a daily basis so long ago.

He looked over at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was reading a book. He did remember how often she had her nose in a book. How was he going to keep her safe, if they didn't have classes together? He was sure they did have some together. What if Ellen had transported herself into a Gryffindor, as Don suggested. He had no control over her there. Maybe Draco should have transported himself into Potter or Weasley. Ugh, as soon as he thought that, he almost threw up. Yes, Hermione would have been safer, and he would be able to watch her closer, but the thought of having ginger hair or a lightning bolt scar made him sick as hell.

He was still staring at Hermione. As if sensing his stare, she looked up at him. Harry did as well. Harry gave Malfoy a rude hand gesture, and he gave one back, which caused everyone at the Slytherin table to laugh. Draco stabbed a sausage and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. He was surprised how easy it was to fall back into hating Potter. As long as his feelings for Hermione didn't change, he didn't care.

**Snape's Office:**

He knocked on Snape's office door and was told to enter. Don was there when he walked in. Draco said, "What do you want?"

"Still as rude as ever," Snape said snidely.

"I beg your pardon, Sir," Draco said with true sincerity. Snape felt his sincerity, and nodded.

"Apology noted," Snape said. "Sit down, Draco. We have to talk." As Draco sat in a chair beside Don, it suddenly hit him. The man before him, his godfather, the head of his house, his friend for so long, was dead in the future. Draco wondered if he knew his own fate. Did he see his death when he looked inside Don's mind? Would he see it when he looked inside Draco?

"I assume you want to question me, use Legilimency, or Veritiserum, as you did with Don?" Draco said.

Snape snickered and said, "When I need to ascertain the truth from you, I need no such methods. I already questioned Mr. Boot, and I trust him, so I shall trust you. Also, I merely need to look in your eyes to tell that you are being honest." Snape sat down at his desk and said, "What we need to speak of is how you are going to go about the task that was assigned you, and protect Miss Granger as well."

Draco just remembered something. Snape tried all that year to get information from Draco on how, when, and where he was going to try to kill the Headmaster, and here he was, trying once again. He said, "You don't need to know the particulars. I will be able to handle both tasks, don't fear."

"Very well, keep your secrets, but know that I am here if you need me. In addition, I don't think it would be wise for you and Professor Boot to appear friendly. I noticed you speaking last night. If this Ellen is here, that might cause suspicion. Since she didn't grow up with Don as her stepbrother, she probably has no clue as to whether or not he really taught here during this year, so his presence alone might not cause suspicion. However, if she sees you two together, she may become aware of your plans. Stay on your toes."

Don said, "My sentiments exactly. I think I have my first class with Slughorn, Professor. I should leave." Don stood up and said, "Draco, please do try to be careful. Don't change the future, in your pursuit to protect it, okay?" Don placed his hand on Draco's arm, squeezed it gently, and then left the room.

After Don left, Snape said, "That man is hiding things from you, did you know that?"

"I know he's gay, Sir," Draco said, assuming that was what he meant.

"I wasn't referring to that. I meant that he knows something about the spell you used to come back, a safe guard if you will, that would protect the future, even if you manage to alter the past. I know he hasn't shared this with you. You should ask him about it. It has something to do with 'a blue moon', but that is all I was able to pick up from him, before he blocked me."

Draco wondered what that meant, so he nodded and said, "I'll ask him, thank you."

Snape said, "My, oh my, how your life has changed. Married to a Mudblood, best friends with a gay man. What's next? Are you going to tell me that you and Potter are drinking buddies now?"

"Not hardly," Draco said. "And don't call her Mudblood. By the way, how did you know Don was gay?"

"I used Legilimency on him, remember?" Snape said. "The man has no secrets from me now, although I know he opened up just what he wanted me to see. He purposely blocked out my own future."

"Are you asking me to reveal that?" Draco asked, with dread.

Snape was quiet for a moment and said, "No. I neither want nor need to know that. I would like to know just one thing; does Dumbledore die at the end of this year?"

Draco already knew that Snape knew he would have to die, so was he really asking who killed him? Draco said, "I think you know the answer, godfather."

Snape stood up and said, "Fine." Then he said, "It is still a hard concept to grasp…you and Granger married."

"Join the club," Draco laughed.

"I bet your parents are thrilled," Snape said with a small smile. Then his smile vanished and he said, "I am sorry Draco. I don't even know if they are alive or not."

"Both alive. Father spent time in Jail, as did mother, and to answer your question, they were not thrilled in the beginning, but now that we have been married for a while, and are expecting our first child, they are happy."

"Lucius' grandchild, a half-blood. Will wonders never cease," Snape said, sounding wistful. Then Snape said, "Your father in this time is in jail, you know, so he shouldn't be a problem, but you should avoid your mother and your aunt Bellatrix at all cost. It would do no good for them to discover that you are not the Draco they think you are."

"My mother has already seen me. I've been here two weeks now. My aunt has not, and I will be careful with that evil woman, you can be sure of that," Draco said. Draco didn't think this would be a picnic, but it would still be easier this time around. For one thing, he already knew how to fix the cabinet, so that would be easier. He could get that done straight away, and not have to worry about it. For another, even if Hermione didn't love him, he loved her, and just that knowledge made things easier.

Moreover, the biggest comfort, although it was hardly a comfort, was the knowledge that no matter what, he didn't have to kill Dumbledore - the one thing he spent his entire sixth year fretting over. This time, he knew that he would not be able to do it, and that the man in front of him would have that dubious task to complete.

Snape stood in front of Draco's chair and said, "Know this, boy. The Dark Lord is to be avoided as well. If he senses anything, it would be a catastrophe. If he knew of this time travel spell, well, let's just say, he would use it for his own evil purposes."

"I understand," Draco said, standing.

"Mr. Boot said that you turn into a noble man of character. I am pleased," Snape said.

Draco smiled. He said, "Believe me, you should be. It was more from your influence, and Hermione Granger's that I was allowed to turn out as such. That is why it is so important that I find Ellen Ward and stop her. I cannot allow her to change the man I am, or my life. I won't allow it."

"Very good. Again, I am here if you need me." Snape wrote a quick note and said, "Take this to the old bat, I mean, Professor McGonagall, to explain your tardiness to class. I will charm another note for you, to keep on your person, which can be used whenever you need an excuse to leave classes, understand?" Snape wrote the second note, touched his wand to it, and handed it to him as well.

"Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Draco."

**Skipping classes****:**

Draco decided to skip his first class completely, and go to the room of requirement. He figured there was no time like the present to start work on the cabinet. He worked throughout the duration of their first class, but left in time for his next class, which was Potions. He wanted to be there, to see Hermione.

He walked into the class as everyone was sitting down. He overhead Potter telling Hermione and Weasley that he suspected Draco of having the Dark Mark. How right Potter was. Draco held his arm as he sat down. There weren't very many people in the Advance Potions class. The only Slytherins were Draco, Blaise and Theo. The only Gryffindors were Hermione, Harry and Ron. There were two Ravenclaws, Michael Corner, and Terry Boot, and then there was Ernie Macmillan. There were two people to a table, and the only empty seats were next to Ernie or next to Hermione. Draco threw his bag on the floor, and took the empty seat next to Hermione.

Harry looked back at their table and whispered something to Ron. Ron looked over to Hermione and said, "Trade me spots, Hermione."

Hermione was already taking out her cauldron and supplies. She said a simple, "No." Draco smiled at the other man, and leaned back in the chair. Ron and Harry both gave Draco warnings with their eyes. Draco thought they were amusing.

Professor Slughorn introduced Don Boot as his apprentice. Hermione smiled at him and Don smiled back. Stupid Potter had to borrow a book from Slughorn. Draco started to set up his workstation as Potter went to the back of the room for the book. Draco asked Professor Slughorn if he remembered his grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy. Slughorn made some remark, which Draco really didn't hear, because he was watching Hermione. He just remembered something Hermione had told him years later. Potter's book was once Snape's old book. That was the same book Potter found the spell he used on Draco that almost eviscerated him in the boy's bathroom that time. Stupid Potter and the stupid book.

Draco really hoped this was all over with before that little event happened again. That rather hurt, it did.

They were told they could work on one of three potions, Veritaserum, Polyjuice or Amortenia. Draco leaned toward Hermione and said, "Which one are you working on, little one?"

Hermione eyed him suspiciously and said, "Why?"

"The old codger said we have to try them out on our partners, so I wanted to know if you would be poisoning me or not." He really wanted to be sure she wasn't going to do the Veritaserum. She might ask him some things he rather not reveal.

She said, "Amortenia."

"Ah, the love potion," Draco said. He decided to work on that one was well. They all began to work. Only Potter's turned out perfect, of course, he cheated. The old professor told everyone to try out their potions. Don was trying out Ernie's for him, since he didn't have a partner.

"Here, Mudblood, smell this and tell me what you smell," Draco said. He hated calling her that name, especially since she once revealed to him that it 'never failed to wound her'.

She gave him a dirty look and said, "Don't call me that." She took the vial from his hand, and took a deep sniff. She handed it back to him.

"Well?" he asked.

"Freshly mowed grass and new parchment, and for some reason, new clothing and chocolate," she said.

Draco sat upright. Once when they stayed up all night talking, she told him that the first time she ever smelled Amortenia, she smelled freshly cut grass and parchment, which were things associated with Ron. Draco laughed at that time and asked her what smells she associated with him and she had said, "New clothing and chocolate."

Was he already changing the future? Was she already falling in love with him? He had a panicked look on his face, because Hermione said, "What's wrong with you?" Then she pushed her potion toward him and said, "Here, smell mine and tell me what you smell."

He was almost afraid to take the vial from her hand. He reached over, his fingertips skimming hers. She jerked her hand away. He took a deep sniff, and smelled vanilla, cinnamon, and old books. She asked, "Well?"

"I don't smell a thing. You must have done it wrong," he said. Instead of handing her vial back to her, he threw it in his cauldron, stood up, and took his things to the work sink to clean up.

Hermione watched him and frowned, because she knew she hadn't done it wrong. It was bad enough that Harry won the prize for the best potion, but for Malfoy to claim she did her potion wrong upset her even more.

Harry turned around and said, "What's wrong, Hermione?"

"Nothing," she said.

Draco came back to the table and said, "Hermione's potion didn't turn out, and she was pouting."

The fact that he called her Hermione to Harry did not go unnoticed by Harry or Hermione; however, Draco wasn't aware of what he had said. Neither could comment on it because Slughorn took that moment to walk over to Harry and he remarked that he must have his mother's potion making ability. Draco snorted and said, "He inherited his dirty blood from her as well," loud enough for the Nott to hear. Theo laughed. Hermione heard as well and gave Draco a dirty look.

There was a dead worm on the table behind them. It was a remnant from someone's potion. Draco reached around for the dead worm and flung it at her. He did it for a lark. It hit her back. Theo and a few others laughed. Hermione picked it up and flung it back at him. It hit his shoulder and stayed there. Now everyone laughed at him. Before he could do anything else, Potter went up to the front of the class to collect his prize, the Felix Felicis, or liquid luck, for the best potion. Blah!

As they were leaving the classroom, Hermione stayed behind to speak to Don. She probably thought he was cute, Draco thought. He smiled when he remembered how embarrassed Hermione was the first time she found out that Don was gay, because she had a slight crush on him, and Don accidentally saw her naked. He remained behind, by the outside door. When Hermione walked out the door, Draco threw the rest of the remains of the worm from earlier at her. It got caught in her hair.

"That's disgusting, Malfoy!" she said, removing the bits and pieces from her hair. She held it in her hand.

"Well, it might improve your hairstyle," he said, trying to stay in character. Without forethought, he reached up and removed a small piece that she had left behind.

"What are you doing?" she gasped, taking a step back.

He just realized what he had done. He had touched her hair!

She said, "You just called me Hermione for the second time since school started, and now you are touching my hair!"

He heard footsteps so he said, "You're disgusting, Mudblood!" He didn't know what else to say. He kept slipping up! First, he called her 'Hermione' the other day and she claimed he had done it again today, and now he touched her hair! He threw the rest of the worm on the flagstone floor and sulked away from her. He had just rounded the corner when he heard her scream.

Before he could reach her, he saw that Don had come out of the classroom to help her. She was on the ground, holding her arm. Draco started to approach, but Don looked up at him quickly and shook his head no. Just then, Potter and Weasley came running down the hallway. Draco went back around the bend, and listened.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Someone shot a curse at her," Don said. "If she hadn't bent down, it might have hit her square in the chest. As it was, it bounced on the wall, and she caught the reflected end of the curse on her arm."

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a burn to my arm."

Ron said, "I'll take her up to the Hospital wing. I don't have a class this period."

Don came around the bend, took Draco's arm and ushered him into an empty classroom. Don said, "Did you see anything?"

"No, and I was seriously just out there with her," Draco said.

"Why were you out there with her?" Don asked, suspiciously.

"I put a worm in her hair, okay?" Draco said with disdain. "I have to act like I hate her, don't I?"

"Well, thank goodness you did. She was bending down to pick the dead worm off the ground when the curse was fired at her. If she hadn't bent down, she might have been seriously hurt. And you didn't see anyone else?" he asked.

"No," Draco said.

"I only saw the tail end of the curse, but the jet of light looked yellow. I don't even know what curse that might have been," Don said. He shook his head and started out of the room. Draco grabbed his arm.

"What do you know about a safety clause, so to speak, about this little trip we've taken? Something bout a blue moon, or something?" Draco asked.

"I didn't allow Snape to see that, and I won't tell you either, Draco. If I do, you will think it will give you a license to go around changing the past. Just leave it be. Don't change anything, because you cannot rely on a blue moon. A phenomenon like that doesn't happen often. It is just a little safety clause that Rowena figured out. If we do change the past, and we will still have a chance to fix things, but I won't tell you more! It's risky. Believe me. Just don't change anything too much, Draco!"

"Fine," Draco said. "Hey," he added, as Don started to walk away, "Don't flirt with my wife, by the way. I saw you after class. You're gay and she's married."

"Well, when I was 25, which I am now, I still dated women, so what can I say?" he said with a laugh.

"What?" Draco asked, surprised!

Don had already left, laughing the whole way down the corridor.

Draco had two free periods, so he decided to go work on the cabinet for a while, and then to try to find Hermione. He would look in the most obvious place first. After an hour of working on the cabinet in Room or Requirement, Draco walked into the Library and he saw Hermione all alone at a table. Seriously, after what happened earlier, and after all of his repeated warnings, what part of "Don't be alone" did she fail to comprehend?

He strolled over to her, carefully watching that he wasn't be watched, and he stood in front of her chair.

"Granger," he said.

"Malfoy," she said, not looking up from her book.

"Did you get the entire worm out of your hair?" he asked with a snobbish air.

"Did you get your wand out of your arse?" she asked back.

"You are so witty. Why are you alone?" he inquired.

"Why are you stupid?" she asked.

He wanted to smile, but instead, he stated, "After what happened after Potions, I'm just surprised that your boyfriends would let you out alone. How is your arm, by the way?"

"My arm isn't your concern, and I can take care of myself," she said, finally giving him the courtesy of looking up at him.

"Apparently you can't, or you wouldn't have almost been killed today," he said, trying to keep his tone light. She was almost killed. If he hadn't waited around those extra two minutes, and put that worm in her hair, she would have been. If he had left the room before her, and _not_ placed the worm in her hair, it was hard to tell what might have happened.

"Are you sad that you put the worm in my hair now? If you hadn't, I wouldn't have bent over to pick up the pieces, and perhaps I wouldn't be here for you to torment." She looked back at her book.

He glared at her, surprised that she had almost read his mind, but still, in her usual arrogance, she got it all wrong. "Two minutes later and the school would have been free from its biggest Mudblood know-it-all. One can dream," he said.

"Two minutes more here, and you will find out how well I can take care of myself, Malfoy," she said. She went back to reading her book and then, without looking up, said, "And I thought you weren't going to call me that anymore. Remember? You said you were going to think up a better name for me."

"Ah, yes, I recall," he said. He leaned toward her and said, "Did you still like Mud bucket, because I could easily switch to that, if you really want me to."

"No, no, it's your prerogative. You may call me what you wish," she said. She recalled that he called her 'little one' earlier in class.

He stood up again and said, "Then I've decided to call you 'Little one', because you are so small, and your knowledge of magic so infinitesimal next to mine."

"That's a stupid nickname for your enemy. You should work on it and give it another go later. Get back to me," she said. Then she waved him away, as if he were a gnat in front of her face.

He pulled out his wand and said, "Take care of yourself, little one. See, I drew my wand at you, and what are you going to do about it? Nothing, that's what. You are all alone and defenseless."

"And my wand is under the table and pointed right at your crotch," she said back, still not looking at him.

"Likely story," he said. He pocketed his wand and then said, "I was serious before, there are dangers out there for people like you. Be careful." He turned to leave and he felt a stinging hex hit him on the right buttocks. He turned around quickly, and she had her wand above the table and was twirling it in her hand.

He almost smiled. Instead, he raised his brows and sat at the table that was in front of her table. He pointed his wand under his table and threw a stinging hex at her knee. He knew he hit his mark when she winced and stared at him.

Biting her bottom lip, she narrowing her gaze, and she sent another one at him, hitting him dangerously close to his family jewels. He suppressed a smile, hexed her again, this one narrowly missing her as she leaned to the side. She sent him another, but at that moment Madam Pince walked between the tables and the hex hit her on the thigh.

Hermione quickly put her nose back in her book, and Draco hid his face, and his smile, in his hand. The old Librarian looked all around, saw nothing amiss, rubbing her thigh as she moved along.

Hermione looked back over at Draco and smiled. He couldn't help it, so he smiled back. Then, Potter and Weasley walked in the Library. Hermione hid her smile and looked back in her book. Draco placed his feet up on the table and glared at the three.

Harry looked over at Malfoy and snidely said, "What are you doing, Malfoy?"

"It's a Library, Potter. What do you think I'm doing?" he asked. "I'm plotting your imminent death."

Weasley sat beside Hermione and Harry leaned toward Draco's table and said, "I know you are up to no good this year. I want you to know that I will be watching you. I know you have the Dark Mark."

At this, Hermione looked up. Draco glanced at her before he stood up. He leaned toward Harry and said, "You would do better to watch your own back, and Granger's, if you know what's good for you. Leave me alone. I'm no concern to you." He knocked the chair he had been sitting in over in his haste to leave. He turned back around, and saw Ron Weasley place his arm around Hermione's shoulder. Draco tore out of the Library like a bat out of hell.

He could handle all that he had to do this year, but damn it to bloody hell, he wasn't sure he could stomach Weasley touching Hermione. He just might have to do something about that.


	6. Part VI

All characters belong to JKR

**Part VI:**

**Defense Against the Dark Arts:**

The week was ending, and no one was more grateful to see it end than Draco Malfoy. They were heading into their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class that week, and Draco had a feeling of dread, and he was unsure as to why he felt that way. He knew he had many reasons to dread so many things, but this feeling had nothing to do with the task ahead of him, or the danger to his wife. This was something different. He watched as Snape walked down the aisles, telling everyone to, "Take your seats!" Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet the tension remained in the air, and Draco was left with his feeling of dread.

Snape began his lesson on the Inferius, or the undead. When he asked the class if anyone could tell him about the Inferius, of course, Hermione raised her hand. Draco bent his head so no one would see his smile. She was a little 'know-it-all', wasn't she? As usual, Snape ignored her, and said, "No one?" and she proceeded to answer anyway. Draco had forgotten how she used to do that. The fact that Snape treated her like a little chit used to thrill Draco to no end, but now it bothered him. She was only trying to answer the question. Well, fine, she was trying to prove to everyone how smart she was, but still, Snape didn't have to act so annoyed by her all the time.

Snape listened to her explanation, and then said, "Of course, Miss Granger knows the answer."

Pansy leaned over and said, "That's because her hair looks like the undead."

A few people laughed. It dawned on Draco that Hermione must have overheard. She always heard when people were cruel to her. He was suddenly ashamed of how he had treated her all those years. Perhaps that was the feeling of dread that had washed over him. He dreaded his own cruelty; to the one he loved the most.

Snape said, "Are you listening, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco looked up and said, "Honestly, no."

"Fine, Miss Granger, I am sure you can answer the question," Snape said, turning to her. As she began to drone on about wandless magic and nonverbal spells, Draco stared at her. She was so young. So pretty. So self-assured and confident, in the face of adversity. She was a wonder. He loved her so, and the fact that he once sought pleasure at her pain was the dread he was feeling, and it was so heavy in his heart he could barely breathe.

He saw everyone scooting the tables and chairs toward the walls. He stood up and said to Blaise, "What's going on?"

"We are to break into pairs and practice nonverbal spells," Blaise said, somewhat annoyed with Malfoy. Draco stood to the side, already feeling at an advantage. He was proficient at nonverbal spells, even when he was 16 years old he was, due to his father's insistence that he learn. He had never been able to do wandless magic, however. Hermione could do it, he knew. Hermione had even killed someone with a wandless, non-verbal death spell once, when they came back to school after the war. She was the only person that was ever documented as to having done so. He wanted everyone in here to know how special she was, but he knew he couldn't tell anyone. He knew Potter could do wandless magic as well. Could they both do it when they were just 16?

Draco stepped over to the other side, not yet in a 'pair'. Soon, Snape said, "Change partners." Then he said, "Mr. Malfoy, go with Miss Granger."

Was Snape serious? Draco walked up to Hermione and without warning, he sent a jelly-leg curse toward her, which she blocked easily with a wordless shield charm. Harry had taught them all shield charms during their DA days. Draco had forgotten. He smiled and said, "Nice one, Mudblood." Inside, he was proud of her.

He then said, "Give me your best shot." She merely stared at him and then he raised his own silent shield charm in time to ward off her Protego curse. Draco smiled, without uttering a word, and with a small jerk to his wrist, he unarmed her. As her wand flew into his hand, he asked, "Is that all you have for me?"

She raised her hand, now without a wand, and before he knew it, she had bound his legs and arms together, and he fell over flat. Everyone snickered or laughed. Snape walked up to him, stared down and said, "Ten points to Gryffindor, for the first use of wandless magic." He uttered a silent counter curse over Draco's body, and Draco could swear he saw the man smile.

Draco stood up, pointed at Hermione, and said, for affect, "This isn't over yet, Mudblood."

"I'm so scared," she said back. She turned to walk over to Ron, as Harry shouldered past Draco, ramming into him hard.

Harry whispered, "Call her that once more, right now, Death Eater."

He walked over to where Hermione and Ron stood and Draco realized something. The angrier he could make Potter, the safer he would keep Hermione. Just as Snape was about to dismiss the class, Draco, who still had Hermione's wand, threw it toward her, across the room, as hard as he could. He knew it wouldn't hit her. He knew Harry would catch it, but Harry didn't have to know that he knew that. Harry's hand swiftly raised in the air to catch the wand before it hit her.

She jerked around, noticed what he did, and took the wand from Harry. She stuffed it in her robe and walked swiftly out the door. Soon, everyone had left but Harry and Draco. Harry said, "I know what you are."

"Yes, you keep telling me that. I'm so proud of you," Draco said back. "I know something, too. Shall I share it with you?" He remained calm as he walked toward Potter.

Harry cocked his head to the side and said, "What?"

"If you leave Granger's side, even for the briefest moments, we are likely to have dead Mudblood all over the place, and I hear they are dreadfully hard to get off your shoes," Draco leered. Just the thought of what he was threatening to Potter made his own skin crawl. "Don't leave her side for a moment."

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Harry said.

"If you let her get killed, you just might die, too," Draco said cryptically. He wanted to scare Potter into thinking that Hermione was a target, because frankly, she was. Draco pushed Harry aside, and walked out of the room.

**The Greenhouse:**

Finally, they were having their last class of the week. Herbology. Draco always abhorred that class. It went along, uneventfully. As Hermione was cleaning the workspace, Draco tarried afterwards, slowly. He told Crabbe and Goyle to wait outside for him. Katie Bell, the seventh year Gryffindor who almost died, thanks to Draco, came running into the Greenhouse. She asked Potter when tryouts for Quidditch were to be held.

"Tomorrow morning, bright and early," Potter said. "I promised everyone we would have the tryouts early, so I could post the players on the board, and get our practice schedule made up."

"Why not have them tonight, after classes," Katie asked.

"I have detention tonight with Snape, and a private lesson with Dumbledore after that," Harry admitted.

"The first week of school and you already have detention," Katie said with a laugh. "Oh well, see you tomorrow at the tryouts."

Draco leaned down to fiddle with nothing in particular. He was stalling. However, Potter must have assumed he left, because he heard Harry tell Hermione, "Can you handle cleaning the rest of this up yourself? I want to go talk to Ginny before my detention."

"Yes, Harry, I'm fine. I don't need a babysitter," Hermione said.

"Yes you do, I told you that Malfoy threatened you," Harry said. "And he was just hanging around here. I'll go find Neville to walk you back to the castle."

Draco slid under a table. He could barely believe he was reduced to hiding under tables! Hiding under tables in a greenhouse no less, for Merlin's sake! He remembered that he told Crabbe and Goyle to wait for him, and he knew Potter would see them outside and come back in. He heard Potter leave, and waited for what seemed like forever for him to return, but he didn't. Draco crawled to the door, and saw that Crabbe and Goyle had left. They always were useless.

Draco stood up, pretending that he was just re-entering the greenhouse. Hermione looked up. She didn't seem particularly afraid. Draco walked over to pick up his books, which he really had left by the table.

"Did you forget your books, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Did you forget your comb, Granger?" he asked. Hermione glared at him. He realized that she actually had pretty hair. She always did. Why did everyone always make fun of her hair? It was one of his favourite things about her, especially when they were making love, and she was on top, and it would graze across his skin…

"Malfoy!" Hermione chastised from beside the greenhouse door.

"I wasn't thinking about sex!" he said defensively.

She actually laughed and said, "I didn't say you were. Why would you say that? I was however, trying to get your attention. Someone shut the greenhouse door, and I can't get it opened."

"Oh," he muttered, embarrassed. He put his books down on the floor and tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge. He shoved his shoulder into it, and it still wouldn't move. He swore, took out his wand, and tried to open it with magic. It still wouldn't open.

Hermione said, "Let me try." Draco moved aside, she took out her wand, and tried to open the door, and it stayed sealed tight. "That's so odd." She looked around and she suddenly said, "Malfoy, shut your mouth."

"I didn't say anything!" he said.

"No, cover your mouth and nose," she said. She pointed toward a red mist, which was floating up through the air, coming from spores on a strange looking plant in the corner. Draco wasn't a herbologist, but he knew what that plant was.

"Is that a Pinus Sylvestris plant?" he asked.

"Yes, and those cones, or spores, are emitting a dangerous toxin," she said, backing away. She actually reached for his arm and pulled him with her.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Granger, but that certain toxin is poisonous, right?" he said. He covered his mouth and nose with the front of his robe.

She said, "Highly poisonous. Deadly, even." He looked down at her and she had yet to cover her face. He reached for the front of her robe and yanked it hard. "Hey!" she said.

He dropped his robe and said, "I don't want to disrobe you, stupid! Cover your face!"

She nodded, but then she pointed her wand at him, and then at herself, producing bubblehead charms over each of them. Draco looked around the greenhouse, as the red gaseous smoke wafted closer to them. He pointed his wand at one of the windows, but Hermione shook her head. Her voice sounded muffled as she said, "The glass can't be penetrated with magic. They make it that way."

"That's stupid!" Draco said. Soon, the gas was all around them. They were backed toward the glass wall. Draco had the back of her robes bunched in his hand. She wasn't even aware. He asked, "How long can we breathe with these bubblehead charms?"

"Probably fifteen minutes," she said.

"Well, isn't that fantastic!" Draco said. "Do something." He knew he was here to protect her, but he also knew she was smarter than he was.

She said, "You do something."

"This isn't a pissing contest, Granger," he said. "This isn't about getting ten points for Gryffindor. You're smarter than I am, so use your brains to get us out of here!"

"You think I'm smart?" she asked sincerely.

"For goodness sakes!" He looked around again. The gas was all around them, impairing their vision.

Hermione pointed toward the ceiling and she said, "Gas rises."

"So?"

"So, we'll wait until the gas rises, and dissipates out the air vents. Once it hits the air, it should be diluted enough that it won't be a danger to anyone."

"How long will that take?" he asked.

She shrugged and said, "Let's hope it doesn't take any longer than 15 minutes. We should stop talking, though. It uses more oxygen." She sat down on the floor. He shrugged and sat next to her.

Every once in a while she would look to the side, toward him. He had picked up a piece of parchment he found on the ground and with the parchment on top of a book he found, and the book on his legs, he grabbed a quill from the table and began to write. He wrote something on the parchment, and passed it to her.

"_Do you sometimes wish things were different?" _The note read.

Hermione nodded. He took the parchment back, wrote something else, and handed it to her. It said, "_It's a shame to hate people who don't deserve it. I've come to that conclusion."_

Hermione read the note and nodded her agreement again. He wrote one last thing. He wrote, _"I don't hate you." _He folded the note and gave it to her. He said, "Read it later." She nodded. They sat in silence for a long time. Long past fifteen minutes.

Draco's air supply was almost used up. He looked up at the ceiling, and the gas appeared to be almost completely gone. Hermione was taking short, shallow breaths. He knew that her air supply was almost depleted as well. He was about to take off his bubblehead charm, when she shook her head no, as if sensing what he was about to do.

Just then, the greenhouse doors flew open. Neville saw Draco and Hermione sitting on the floor. He rushed in and said, "Harry asked me to come meet Hermione, and I saw the red gas over the greenhouse! I was worried that the gas might be from the spores of the Pinus Sylvestris plant. Are you two okay?"

Hermione removed her bubblehead charm, stood up, and ran toward the open door, for fresh air. Draco was right behind her. He had his hand on her back, as they both leaned toward the fresh air. This time, she was highly aware that he was touching her, but she didn't say anything. He wasn't aware anything was amiss at all, for he was used to touching her.

Draco asked, "How did you get the door open, Longbottom?"

"I just walked up to it and it opened," he said. Hermione walked over to the table and grabbed her things. Draco walked over toward his own things. She hastily wrote something on a piece of parchment from one of her book, and said "Neville, wait for me outside for a moment." Neville nodded and took her books from her and walked outside.

Draco bent down to pick up his books from the floor. Hermione walked over to him and threw a piece of parchment on top of his things. She ran out the door, not looking back once.

Draco opened the note and read. The note said, "_I don't hate you either."_

**Quidditch Practice:**

The weekend had finally arrived. Draco had never known how hard it was to go to school and try to watch out for someone else's life. He didn't know how Potter did it year after year.

As the weekend drew to an end, there didn't seem to be any more attempts on Hermione's life. Draco had told Don about the Greenhouse. Don didn't think it was a coincidence. Two attempts on her life, and it was still the first week of school, and they didn't have any suspects! Well, they had their suspect; they just didn't know WHO she was at the moment.

It was Saturday morning and the Gryffindors had booked the Quidditch pitch for tryouts. Potter had been made captain of the team that year. Draco had to give up Quidditch that year, because he was too busy trying to fix the cabinet. This time, he got the cabinet thing out of the way, so all his extra time could be spent on watching Hermione. He didn't tell Don about the cabinet, because he didn't think it would make a difference if he fixed it now, or if it took him months to do so.

Draco was walking around outside, watching the dorks on their brooms, because he knew that Hermione was undoubtedly at the pitch with her best friends. He knew he couldn't very well just go and watch the tryouts, so he wandered around outside the pitch, so he could watch out for her, when he literally ran into her, or really, she ran into him.

"Oi, watch where you are going, little one," Draco said from his place on the ground. "You barreled right into me." She didn't even stop; she continued to walk on by. "I say, how rude," Draco shouted as he stood.

She turned around and said, "Leave me be, Malfoy."

"What's wrong?"

"NOTHING!" she shouted.

"Fine…" Draco started.

"You would think he would be grateful, but no, he's not grateful!"

"Who…" Draco began to ask.

"I made sure he got on the stupid team! He would have missed that last one completely! And instead of being grateful, he's an ingrate!" she said, pacing back and forth. "HE'S AN INGRATE!"

He was amused by her antics. Draco put out his index finger and pressed it against her shoulder to stop her from moving. She stopped immediately. "Who and what are you talking about, Granger?"

"RON!" she said.

"Okay, carry on," Draco said. It surprised him that she did.

She said, "He wouldn't have saved that last one if it wasn't for me! Cormac would have saved them all if I hadn't confounded him!" Suddenly, she placed her hand over her mouth, as if she just realized that she had said too much.

"Oh ho, little Miss Granger, pure as the driven snow, is a cheat!" Draco said. He wondered if this happened the first time as well. Hermione had never told him that she got Ron on the team by cheating!

"Just shut up!" she spat.

"So, the Vermin didn't thank you! He probably thinks he got on the team by merit, the stupid idiot. So what?" he asked.

"SO! SO?" she shouted again. "So, the least he could do is not flirt with Lavender right in front of me!" She began pacing back and forth again. "She makes me sick! She was all, 'Oh, Ron, you were so great!' and he was like, 'Go on, now', and she said, 'No, you were the best', and it makes me sick!" She stomped her foot like a ten year old.

Draco placed his hands on his hips and said, "You amuse me."

She actually pushed him and said, "SHUT UP!" He started to laugh and she rushed up to him and pushed him again. This time, Draco's foot caught on a root and he toppled over and landed on his bum. Hermione gasped, placed her hand over her mouth, and then she bent down and asked, "Are you okay?"

Draco reached for her arm, pulled her on top of him and rolled over. Then he placed his hand over her mouth. She was pushing against him, scared and confused, until he whispered, "Sh. Be quiet and listen."

She quieted her breathing, and he removed his hand from her mouth. They heard a voice say, "Are you sure she came back this way?"

"I told you she did. She's upset about something."

"Did you give it to her yet?"

"I haven't had a chance," he said.

They heard Harry Potter shouting Hermione's name, and the two voices, and their bodies, ran away.

Hermione was not yet aware that Draco Malfoy was lying on top of her. She said, "What was that about, do you suppose? Do you think they were talking about me? Was it two boys or a boy and a girl? I couldn't tell, since they were whispering. Could you tell?"

Draco gave her an incredulous look and then to shut her up he leaned down and kissed her square on the mouth.

It was a short kiss. Hard, without real passion. Her eyes became wide as saucers and she was about to protest, when Draco clamped his hand over her mouth again. He placed his mouth near her ear and said, "Quiet. Someone else is coming."

He removed his hand and she softly said, "I think its Harry."

"HERMIONE!" Harry shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Let me up, Malfoy," she whispered.

All he could do was to shake his head no. He looked down at her doe like eyes, and he moved so that his body was now beside her, not on top, because if he remained on top of her, he probably would end of making love to her. He still had one leg possessively over her body, until he moved it as well, but he kept it between her legs.

He was breathing as hard as she was. He rubbed his nose down her jaw. He placed his mouth against her pulse point, on her neck. He kissed her neck. She began to breathe harder and she pleaded, in a whisper, "What's going on here? Please let me up."

Draco wondered if she was breathing hard because she was scared, confused, or aroused. Perhaps it was all three. He sat up quickly. She sat beside him. They both just sat side by side, for a long time.

Then, without warning, she reached over and grabbed his arm with both of her hands. Hermione pushed up his shirtsleeve and looked at the Dark Mark. She looked up in his eyes, her gaze beseeching him, begging him to explain. She scrambled to her feet and started to yell, "HARRY!"

Draco didn't wait to see what happened next. He stood up and ran away.


	7. Part VII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part VII:**

**Hogsmeade and Hermione:**

September came and went without any more attempts on her life. After she saw that he did indeed have the Dark Mark, Hermione had completed avoided Draco, which was just as well, as he wanted to be close to her more than he wanted anything. He was afraid if he had continued to sneak reasons to be with her, he would have had her halfway ravished by now, and the future would be running amuck.

Don had communicated nightly with his brother while sleeping. Don said things appeared to him in dreams, but he was sure it was Nick's way of communicating with him. He told Draco that so far, nothing in the future had changed, which was good and bad.

Draco hadn't messed anything up yet, which was good. Ellen's body was still an empty vessel, which was bad. Once they found her, Don was going to use the incantation on her right away and send her back. Draco frankly thought they should kill her, but since she was probably using someone else's body, Don said that would only harm the body, and not Ellen's consciousness.

Stupid woman.

Draco felt there was something Don was hiding from him. He pressed the man, until he confessed that he thought Hermione might be unwell. She was now 24 weeks pregnant, but Don said that he was certain she was fine, it was just a thought that was hanging over him that something wasn't right with her in the future. Draco told Don to try to find out for sure. If he had to go back to the future, he would. He would send Paul back to the past in his place. He wouldn't risk anything happening to Hermione and their baby.

October finally came, and it was a cold, wet, grey October at that. The wind blew, the rain came, and the leaves fell from the trees earlier than usual. It was the morning of their first Hogsmeade weekend, and Draco knew that the first time he lived this life that he didn't go. He stayed behind to work on the cabinet. He also knew that Borgin had delivered the necklace, and that Draco had to use the Imperius on the woman who owned the Three Broomsticks, so that she gave the poisonous necklace to Katie, who was to give it to the Headmaster.

Draco was worried all day long about the blasted necklace. He wished that he could go to Hogsmeade to be certain that Hermione was okay, but he knew he had detention with McGonagall today as well, and that he had to keep the detention, so that no one would suspect him of giving the necklace to Katie.

All the lies and deceit were beginning to take their toll on Draco Malfoy. He was beginning to crack under the pressure, just as he had the first time, and he didn't like it one bit.

On that early October morning, Draco Malfoy glanced over at the Gryffindor table and noticed that Hermione and Ron were in the middle of what appeared to be a fight. He heard the words, "Quidditch", "Lavender" and "Harry number one in Potions". Soon, Hermione shoved away from the table and ran out of the hall. He watched her go, glanced back over at the Gryffindor table, to see Harry Potter staring right at him.

The rest of the day was pure agony. His detention with McGonagall was a joke. He didn't remember what he did to deserve it the first go round, but this time he set the Weasel's robes on fire. When Zabini and Nott came back from Hogsmeade, they told him about the necklace and Katie Bell. He felt overwhelming guilt, but at least he knew she would be okay.

Zabini said, "There was also trouble in paradise, apparently."

"Whatever do you mean?" Draco asked.

"The Weasel and his bushy-headed sidekick got into a fight. A big row, in The Three Broomsticks. It would have been funny, if it weren't so pathetic," Nott answered.

"Stupid Weasley," Draco said before he could censor himself. "And stupid Mudblood," he quickly added.

Zabini smiled and looked at Nott. Draco said, "What am I missing?"

"Oh, just Nott over here made the little Gryffindor resident brain cry, didn't you Nott?" Zabini said.

"I don't like to brag, but yeah, I did," he gloated.

Draco swallowed hard and clenched his fist to his side. It took a lot back then to make Hermione cry. She was used to people teasing her and calling her names, and she never cried over those types of things. What could Nott have done to make her cry? As nonchalant as he could, Draco asked, "What did you say?"

"I just said that even lowlife vermin like the blood traitor Weasley had standards, and that no one in the school would ever be interested in an ugly, bucktooth, bushy-haired Mudblood like her. I told her she was a stain on the Magic community," Theo said with a smile. "I added with the fact that once the Dark Lord came back into power, her type would all be exterminated, like the parasites they are."

Zabini added, "Then Pansy told her to go out to the alley, and perhaps a rat out there would take pity on her and date her."

"What did Potter and Weasley do at that?" Draco asked.

"Nothing, did they?" Theo said. "They had already left the pub, and she was alone when we spoke to her."

That made Draco angrier than the fact that those bastards picked on her. She wasn't to be left alone! How hard of a concept was that for Potter to understand? Draco said, "Good one, Nott," and then with as much audacity as he could gather, he rose from the couch in the common room and said, "I've got some business to attend, see you later."

He almost made it to the door when Pansy walked up and grabbed his arm. "Draco, we've hardly spent two seconds alone since school started. Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

"Not really," he answered.

"Why not? Is there someone else?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Seriously, Pans, I've got important things to see about, you know that."

"The task from the Dark Lord, you mean?" she asked.

"Yes," he lied.

"May I see it again?" she asked.

Draco frowned. "See what?"

"The Dark Mark?" she asked.

Draco tried to keep the bile from rising in his throat. He hated that blasted mark. He raised his shirtsleeve and showed it to her. She reached out and traced it with her fingertips, which only made Draco sicker.

"I can't believe you are a Death Eater, and you are so young," she said.

"Is there anything else, Pansy?" he asked, actually bored with this inane conversation.

The girl looked hurt, and said, "No."

Draco turned toward the doorway and stormed out of the room. He marched down the dungeon's hallway, toward the staircase. It was right before dinner, so he was going to try to find Hermione. If it was true that she had a fight with Ron again in Hogsmeade today, he rather doubted that she would be in the Gryffindor common room.

**Hermione and the Black Lake:**

Draco searched the whole castle. Finally, he began searching outside when he saw her. She was at the end of the dock, on the other side of the Black Lake. He began to walk toward her, when he noticed that she looked up. Having seen him, he figured she would run away. Instead, she stayed put.

As he got closer, he could see that she had her wand out and at the ready. Good. She needed to be on guard. He raised his hands, as he became close enough to speak. "I'm unarmed, so put your wand away, Granger."

"Where's you wand?" she asked.

"In my coat pocket," he answered honestly.

"Then mine will stay out," she said.

Fair enough, Draco thought. He walked on the planks of the old wooden dock and when he was beside her, he only had a moment to decide whether to sit beside her or go back inside, since he could see she was well. However, she did appear to be alone, so perhaps he should say. While he was still trying to decide, she said, "Have a seat."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Since she invited, he would oblige.

She merely nodded. He sat on the dock, not close to her, but at the same end. She said, "Did you hear what happened in Hogsmeade today?"

"Yeah, about that, Granger, Nott and Zabini are prats, you know that," he said.

She looked confused and she said, "No, I could care less about that. Although I agree, they are prats."

"What do you mean, if you aren't talking about what they said to you in the pub?" he asked. He quickly added, "Are you referring to the fight between you and Weasley? I heard about that as well."

"Your sources are sorely lacking information," she said. "I mean about what happened to Katie Bell. Someone gave her a package in The Three Broomsticks, and the wrapping was torn. She had a small hole in her glove, and she touched the item, which was a necklace. She almost died."

Draco was quiet. What could he say?

"The necklace was one I have seen before," she continued.

Draco looked up to the grey sky. So much grey, and soon it would be black.

"You've seen it before, too," she added.

"Really?" he asked. He stared into her eyes. She didn't flinch.

"At Borgin and Burkes. Remember the day we followed you in Knockturn Alley? That necklace was at the shop. I saw it right after you left," she said.

"So you saw it AFTER I left," he said. He wanted to throw suspicion off him. Of course, he had arranged for the damn necklace to be delivered to Hogsmeade, to be given to a student, where it was then to be given to Dumbledore. He couldn't tell her that, though.

"Did you have anything to do with the necklace?" she asked.

He narrowed his gaze and said, "I had detention with your beloved queen of tartan, McGonagall, today. I wasn't even in Hogsmeade, and you yourself said you saw the blasted necklace after I left Borgin's." He was stating truths, but lying just the same. He was surprised how easy it was to fall back into lying.

"So you had nothing to do with it?" she asked.

"Why do you care one way or another?" he asked.

"Because a student almost died, today. An innocent student. She may yet die, Malfoy, so that's why I care. Everyone should care. Harry thinks you have something to do with it," she said, answering his question.

"Well, bully for him," he said.

"May I see it again?" she asked.

"What?" he asked back, already afraid of what she wanted to see. First Pansy, and now her. Yet he was ashamed for Hermione to see it, even though she saw it everyday in their future. She reached over and touched his sleeve. He removed his arm as if she burnt his skin.

He stood up suddenly and said, "Why are you always out and about by yourself?"

She remained sitting and she asked, "Why do you always care? Never mind, don't answer. You know, Harry thinks you want to hurt me, but you've had too many chances to hurt me. You could kill me ten different ways right now, if you wanted."

He couldn't help but smiled. He sat back down and said, "Really? Ten different ways? Share with me numbers eight through ten, won't you? Do you sit around and dream up all these ways to kill people, Granger?"

"Not likely," she said back. "I was just saying that I don't think you want me to die, but the question is, why? I represent everything that, that symbol on your arm detest. You should want me dead. You should hate me. Nevertheless, you don't. You almost seem to care."

He stood back up, walked over to the other side of the dock, and without facing her he said, "That's where you're wrong, Muddy. I couldn't care in the least." He had to convince her of that. He had to.

"Oh do sit back down, Malfoy," she said, with an annoyed tone to her voice.

He frowned and turned back to face her, but she was looking out toward the lake. He didn't know what to do. He felt awkward and confused. He felt like a 16 year old again, that was for sure. He remained standing, and watched as she stood as well. She walked to the very edge of the dock, and said, "The days are getting shorter. Here it is, just dinner time, and it's already dark outside."

The wind whipped around them, and Draco could hear the distant sound of people laughing. Someone else was out there. They weren't alone, and that made him more aware of the danger she faced. Who was out there? Was it merely some of their fellow students, enjoying the autumn evening, or was it something more ominous, someone that needed the dark of the evening to cover a host of sins? He wouldn't wait to find out. He grabbed out at her arm and turned her around.

"Why are you alone?" he asked again. He then said, "You are missing dinner."

"So are you," she said back.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked.

"Aren't you?" she asked.

"You are so irritating!" he leveled. He let go of her arm and looked around again. He now felt they were alone, and he wasn't sure if that was better or worse. He turned back to her and said, "Go inside, little one. You think I won't hurt you, but I might. You shouldn't trust anyone, especially on a dark cold night, like tonight."

The wind whipped around them as he spoke. She said, "For goodness sakes," and then she moved away from him and went to stand back at the end of the dock. He had no choice - he had to follow.

**Alone on the Dock:**

He picked up a small piece of wood and threw it out into the water. The sound of the wood hitting the water below with a small splash broke their silence. He walked over to stand next to her. They were standing so close that the back of her hand was touching the back of his hand. It was wrong of him, but he moved his hand slightly so that it didn't appear that it was just a casual movement. He wanted to feel her skin against his, and for so inexplicable reason, he wanted her to feel his skin against hers.

They stood forever, but for only a moment, the backs of their hands and their arms touching. She turned to look at him and said, "May I see the Dark Mark again, please."

He moved away from her and closed his eyes. "Fascinated by Death Eater, are you, Granger? Are you one of those good girls who like bad boys?" He bent down and picked up a small stone. He moved it deftly from one hand to another, stalling. He finally said, "I bet Potter wet his pants in delight when you told him you saw it the first time."

"I didn't tell him," she said.

He didn't know what to make of that. He asked, "Why do you want to see it again? Morbid curiosity? What?"

"You were right before. I like the bad boys," she said in a sarcastic, monotone voice.

"Do you think I'm bad?" he asked.

"Are you?" she asked him.

"The worst," he said. He stepped closer. He moved the small stone from one hand to another.

"No one is all bad or all good," she preached.

"You don't believe that, not really," he said. The wind blew her hair at that moment in front of her face. He resisted the urge to smooth it down.

She said, "Excuse me, but don't presume you know me, Malfoy." She reached for the stone that was now in his right hand. The brush of her fingers on his palm caused his heart rate to quicken. She threw the small stone past his shoulder, where it rippled against the water.

He watched the stone on its small trek, and then turned to look at her again. "I know you," he said.

"Oh yeah, well tell me something about me, that no one else knows," she challenged. "Don't say something like that fact that I like to read, or that I'm a Muggle born. Tell me something real, if you think you can." She placed her hands on her hips, in the fussy way that she did so often.

He smiled and said, "Your favourite colour is light blue." She continued to glare. He said, "Am I right?" He knew that was the truth, now whether or not she would admit it was another thing.

"You've probably seen me wear light blue a lot," she finally conceded.

"No, I just know you better than you think I do," he said.

"That's nothing. I know your favourite colour is black," she said.

He leaned toward her, so close that his breath was on her face, and he said, "I'm actually partial to light blue, too."

She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away. "That still proves nothing, Malfoy. You don't know me."

"Your favourite poet is Walt Whitman."

"Books? You probably saw me reading him before."

"You love strawberry ice cream," he said.

"Food…seriously? We have eaten in the same hall for six years now. I know you like chocolate."

"You watch me eat, do you?" he asked, amused. He crossed his arms in front of him. He said, "Here's a good one. You're a virgin."

She gave him a daring look and said, "We are not going to go there, Malfoy! Stop it right now. That still proves nothing! You don't know anything about me!"

He had to laugh. He knew she lost her virginity to him when she was nineteen, on a Christmas Eve, when they came back to school the year after the war. He smiled to himself, threw his head back, laughed and said, "You would blush scarlet if I revealed how well I know you, little one." He knew every dimple, mole, crevice and curve of her body, as well as her mind, heart and soul.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked defensively.

To cover for what he said, he answered, "It's just you are so transparent, Granger. You think people like me are bad. You think people like Potter are good. You think you are smarter than everyone else is. You think it's all black and white, but bloody hell, Granger, there's so much grey out there, that the grey almost smothers us. Grey is everywhere," he continued, walking around to the other side of her, facing her once more as he spoke.

"The black and the white are bleeding together, and there is so much grey that I feel it choking me sometimes. Sometimes people have other motives for the things they do. It's not just because they are good or bad, or in this case, black and white."

"What are your motives? Why did you get that mark on your arm?' she asked.

He shouted, "Maybe I didn't have a choice! All right? Maybe it was all I could do, Granger! Have you considered that?"

She was breathing hard and so was he. He was standing closer to her than he had been in weeks. He looked down at her and he said, "You know what, forget that. I got the mark because I'm a bad man, Hermione. There's no grey in me, just black. Black heart, black clothing, black mark on my arm. And I will hurt you. Run back inside. Go away from me." He took a heavy, ragged breath, and turned away from her. "Go inside, Mudblood."

From behind him she said, "I don't believe that, Malfoy. I can't. You wouldn't even be speaking with me if that were true. You even said in that note that you didn't hate me."

He turned back toward her and said, "Temporary insanity."

"We both seem to be suffering from the same malady, then," she said. She walked back to the end of the dock and looked up at the sky. He went back over to the end of the dock also and looked up with her.

She pointed up to the sky, which was now black and cloudless, and she pointed toward the moon. She said, "Look, Malfoy. It's what's known as a blue moon, although there's nothing blue about it. See all the halo's around it. It's a new moon, so bright that the light reflects around it, causing a halo affect. It's rare, and there's supposed to be a lot of magic associated with it. If there is a blue moon during the fall, and another one in the spring, supposedly a person can turn back the hands of time but not alter a thing."

He stared at her, astonished. She turned to look at him and said, "I know, I ramble on about the most useless things. Harry and Ron get so irritated with me. I am a know-it-all, aren't I?"

"No, tell me more," he said. She must know the very thing that Don was hiding from him. She pointed toward the sky again, and leaned over, to look at the moon, as it was partially hidden by the tops of the trees. He instinctively put his arm around her waist, to keep her from falling. This single act shocked her and she turned to face him, all the while, his arm was still around her waist.

However, her gaze went immediately from his face, to an unknown element behind him, and she only had time to say, "Watch out!" and then she pulled him into the lake, where they both landed with a resounding splash.


	8. Part VIII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part VIII**

**Present Day:**

Hermione was sitting alone in the kitchen of her big house, trying hard to knit a blanket for their daughter's upcoming birth. The problem was that her knitting had not much improved since her school days, when she knitted hats and socks to free the Hogwarts elves. She heard a knock on her door, put down the light green yarn and her needles, and went to the front door. She frowned when she saw who it was.

"Mr. Malfoy," she greeted, however glumly.

"Hermione," he said, walking across their threshold. "Have you heard from Draco recently?"

It was the same thing he asked almost daily now. Draco had been gone for 6 weeks, and for the last two, his father had either owled, floo'd or stopped by, to ask about his son. It was beginning to worry Hermione sick. She couldn't keep lying to the man, but lie she must. He knew something was amiss, and pretty soon, he would figure it all out.

She said, "Not really."

"Not really? How vague. And what, pray tell, does 'not really' mean, Hermione? Either you have heard from my son or you have not heard from my son. I know I have not heard from my son. I know that his mother has not heard from my son. I know that no one seems to know about him in Brussels, where you claim he has gone to study for his Master's degree. I know that Mr. Don Boot seems to be gone as well." Lucius sat down on the couch and crossed his legs. He said, "Do you know what else I know?"

"Do enlighten me," she said, crossing the room and sitting beside him, although on the opposite end of the sofa.

"I know that my son was ecstatic with the thought of his first child being born. I know that my son loves you very much. I know that my son has been very worried as of late, and most importantly, young lady, I know he would not just leave, and that you are lying to me."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. She stood up, took the older man's hand, which surprised him since she had never touched him before, and she led him to the stairs. They walked up the first set of stairs, Hermione leading, Lucius following, hand in hand, to the second set of stairs. She opened the doorway that led to the second staircase, and led him up to the third floor. They walked down the dark hallway, and she opened the door. There, in a bed, as if asleep, was Draco, his son.

Hermione had Draco moved to this room only because she wanted privacy when she talked to him. Don was still in the guestroom on the second floor, and his brothers frequently visited him. Lucius looked at the body of his son on the bed, reached out to touch him, pulled his hand back, turned to his daughter-in-law and asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Hermione sat on the bed beside Draco and took his hand, and then proceeded to tell the man everything, from start to finish.

When she was done, she was in tears, and inexplicably, in the older man's arms. He stroked her hair, looked at the body of his son, and felt something akin to pain and pride at the same time.

His son was finally the man he was meant to be.

Lucius was now the one to take Hermione's hand. He led her back down the stairs to the main floor. He ushered her into the library, and shut the door. He said, "We won't tell his mother. Who else knows again?"

"Just the Boots, their father, Harry, and some of the Weasleys. The Ministry doesn't even officially know," she said. She felt closed to tears again.

"I've never even heard of this magic," Lucius said.

"I had never heard of it before, either, well, that's not quite true." She sat on a settee and said, "Have you ever heard of the magic of a blue moon?"

"That's nothing but a fable," he said.

Hermione shook her head and said, "I don't think so, and I think the Boots are hiding things from us." She stood up and went over to one of the bookshelves. There was a massive tome on the middle shelf. She reached for it, but Lucius was already reaching for it as well. He took the book over to the desk for her. It was the book on the four founders that Draco gave her years ago.

She opened up the section on Rowena Ravenclaw and said, "For a woman who valued intellect over all other things, Rowena was highly superstitious, and believed in the magic of seers, and psychics. I first read about the 'Blue Moon' theory in a book at Hogwarts when I was young. There is a passage in here about it as well. Rowena believed time travel, within one's lifetime, could be achieved, but only under the right conditions. I believe she came up with the spell that Draco and Don used, and Ellen, but that they had no choice, none of them, as to what year they traveled."

"Rowena believed that for time travel to exist in a person's lifetime, all the earthly elements had to be aligned. The year of our sixth year was perfect. You see, there was the phenomenon of a blue moon in the early autumn and then another one in late spring. Rowena believed that time travel could only exist during such a phase between the two."

"Why is that?" Lucius asked.

"Because otherwise, any type of time travel would result in a change of the future, no matter how microscopic. Even if Draco just wore a different shirt one day, or forgot to call me Mudblood once, he could change the future. I don't think Don would risk that, since he is such a stickler for the rules. I think they could travel back to a time before the blue moon, but only the things that that occurred between the two blue moons would not change the future."

"Supposedly, under the phase of a double blue moon, one equally spaced apart in one year, no matter what occurs when a person travels back in time, they can't change the future."

"But then, if a person can't change the future, why would Don and Draco want to travel back? Why would Ellen? Her whole purpose is to kill you, thus changing the future. Draco's purpose is to stop her, thus changing the past." Lucius walked around to the fireplace and glared into the flame.

He continued, "If your theory is correct, then the trip is fruitless, for Ellen and for Draco and Don. Why go?"

"Perhaps Ellen didn't know she couldn't change the past," Hermione said. "And I know Draco didn't know about this. Maybe Don hoped they would find her before the blue moon. If my calculations were correct, the blue moon would start tonight. I didn't really give it much thought until recently. You see, I'm certain that Draco would have sought out my alliance in the past. If he did, then things would be different. We would probably have married sooner, and I would probably already have a child, not just be pregnant. Nothing's changed yet, but I'm sure if he stayed there much longer without the protection of the blue moon, it would have changed everything. I think Don knows that about Draco. I think he's using the magic of the blue moon as a safety clause, to make sure Draco can't change the future."

"Don Boot lied?" Lucius asked. "And the other brothers lied as well?"

"Maybe not, I'm still not sure. I don't know anything. My mind is a muddled mess right now. I only know I want my husband to come home. They can leave Ellen in the past for all I care," Hermione said, sounding defeated.

"Don Boot is an admirable man, so he has to have a reason for taking my son to the past. Ellen Boot probably was misguided and may not know about this theory. We will figure this out, and get my son home as soon as we can," Lucius said. He approached her and said, "May I?" He held out his arms.

Hermione had never once hugged her father-in-law, save for the moment in the attic earlier. She never wanted to before, but at that moment, she needed a hug more than she needed anything, besides Draco. She took the three steps needed to reach out to the older man, then she leaned into his embrace, placed her cheek against the smooth satin of his midnight blue robe, and she started to cry.

"Hormones," she said with a sigh.

"But of course," Lucius said, patting her back, but not believing her in the slightest.

**Under the Dock:**

Although it was only October, the water was ice cold. Draco was caught unaware when Hermione practically pulled him into the Black Lake, so he swallowed a mouthful of murky lake water. He rose to the surface, cough and sputtering, and also, looking for Hermione.

He looked around, the water was dark, but the moon danced brightly across the ripples. He said, "Hermione?"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around in the water. There, treading water beside him was she. She said, "Be quiet for a moment." She swam toward the dock, and he followed. He expected her to spring herself up to the wooden platform, but instead, she ducked her head under the wooden dais and he had to follow.

"What?" he started, but she reached over and covered his mouth. Her teeth were chattering from the cold water, and she seemed to have trouble staying afloat, but she had no trouble telling him to be quiet.

"There's someone on the dock," she whispered. He came beside her and they both raised their eyes to the wooden planks above them. The moon crept through the slats in the planks, and they could clearly make out the shadows of a person on the dock, and they heard the heavy thumping of someone else running across the wooden platform to join the first person.

"Did you see them? Where did they go?" the second person asked.

"They fell in the water," a woman's voice said. Draco and Hermione could see wand light casting across the waves in the water. Draco huddled closer to Hermione. He reached up for a crossing plank on one of the dock's legs, and held Hermione with his free hand, so he could hold them upright, and they could still their movements, and so the sounds of them treading water could not be heard by the two people on top of their hiding place.

"I don't think your curse hit them," the man said.

"I'm sure it did. They both fell. It didn't look like they jumped, but I was back pretty far," she said.

"Remember," the man said. "We only really have one target. We aren't supposed to hurt them both."

"I can't help it. It seems odd that he's always with her," the woman said.

"Yes, in a way it does, but I've been observing them, and believe me, he still hates her as much as he always did. Come on, we will go around to the other side of the lake and look. Perhaps they swam over there."

They duo under the dock heard the heavy footsteps overhead. Hermione couldn't contain herself. She reached up with both arms and placed them around his neck. He continued to hold her next to him for a moment, but then said, "We need to get back to the castle."

He swam out from under the dock first, and she followed. He heaved himself up to the platform, and held out a hand to help her. When they were both on the dock he said, "What made you pull me into the water?"

"I saw the weirdest thing. It almost looked like an animal, or perhaps a patronus, and it was rushing right toward us," she said. She had her arms around her body, and she was still shivering. Draco reached inside his jacket for his wand and dried her.

"Thank you," she said.

"What form was the patronus?" Draco asked.

"That's the thing," she said, getting to her knees. She wondered why he hadn't dried himself yet. "It didn't really resemble a patronus, because it wasn't white and mist like. It had more form to it, more like a ghost of an animal. It looked like a wild boar or something."

"Ah, so it looked like Potter, did it?" Draco said with inflection.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. She stood and said, "Do you wish for me to dry you?"

"Sure, do it wandless, Miss Magic," he said, standing beside her.

"I could if I wanted to," she said.

"I have no doubt," he said, looking around to be sure they were safe.

"I bet I could," she said.

"I bet I don't care," he said back. "Why are you out here by yourself, again?" That was the important question. He also wanted to find out what she was going to tell him about blue moons, but first things first.

"I'm not by myself," she said.

He glared at her and said, "Present company not included, you were alone before I joined you."

"I really wasn't, I mean, Harry and Ron think that Seamus came out here with me, but really, Seamus was meeting a Hufflepuff for some snogging, I believe. But he was nearby. I heard them laughing before. We are sort of covering for each other."

"Well, that's stupid," he said. "I hope this weird patronus like thing has proven to you once and for all that you shouldn't be alone. You're in danger!" He pointed his finger at her with each syllable of each word of that last statement.

"Even if I was with Seamus, I might have come to harm. I was with you, and that weird thing still attacked," she pointed out.

Damn, she had a good point.

"Who would want to hurt me?" she asked. She stood back up.

He dried himself with his wand and said, "It might be easier to figure out who wouldn't want to hurt you."

"Funny, Malfoy," she said. She turned around and tried to push him back off the dock, but he grabbed both her arms. He swung her around slightly, so that she lost her footing. She ended up tripping into him.

He held her around the waist, and walked toward the edge. He asked, "Shall I drop you back in the water?"

"NO!" she said.

He suddenly let her loose, and he bent over in pain. She turned to look at him. He grimaced and his knees buckled.

"What's wrong, Malfoy?"

"Go get Professor Boot," he said.

"I don't want to leave you alone out here," she said.

"Go get him," he said again.

She ran down the dock, looking back once, as he lay down on his back, with his knees bent. Hermione didn't know what was wrong with him, but she knew one thing, she didn't want him to be hurt, and she wasn't sure why.

**Where is Don Boot?**

Hermione ran into the Great Hall just as dinner was ending. She ran up to the staff table and asked Professor McGonagall, "Have you seen Professor Boot?"

"No, Miss Granger. He did not come down for dinner. May I assist you?" she asked.

"No, thank you," Hermione said. She turned to scan the room. Harry and Ron had both already left. She felt someone at her side and turned to see Professor Snape.

"Miss Granger, if Professor McGonagall cannot help you, perhaps I can be of assistance?" he asked.

She considered things for a moment and then said, "No thank you, Sir."

She started to run back toward the door and Snape said, "Miss Granger!" She turned back toward the teacher. "Have you seen Mr. Malfoy?"

"Why would I know where he is?" she asked back, rather convincingly. She ran back toward the double doors and saw Seamus as he was walking back into the main doors.

She said, "Come on," to him and grabbed his hand and ran with him back outside.

"Where are we going?" he asked with his heavy Irish brogue.

"Just come with me, and whatever you do, keep this a secret, or I will tell everyone about you and the Hufflepuff."

"Hey!" he said. "I thought we were covering for each other. You get some alone time, I get some time with Susan."

They continued to run toward the lake, her hand in his, and she said, "Consider this a continuation of our covers." They reached the dock, and Draco was still lying on the planks, completely still.

Seamus said, "Holy Mary mother of God, did you kill Malfoy?"

"No you idiot," she said. "But he is hurt or something. Help me." She ran to Draco's side and got down on her knees. She said, "Touch him and see if he's alive."

"You touch him," Seamus said from behind her.

"Just touch him!" Hermione whined.

"No."

"Seamus!" she chastised.

"Hermione!" Seamus said back. "You touch him and see."

"No one has to touch me, you fool," Draco said, opening his eyes. "Although for the record, I would prefer Granger touch me than the flaming shamrock." Draco got up on his elbows.

"What happened?" Seamus asked.

Hermione decided to give him the abridged version, with a few variances. She said, "I was sitting on the dock, and Malfoy came up to torment me, and then this wild animal came out of nowhere and pushed us in the water, and he must have gotten hurt in the fall or something."

"You aren't wet," Seamus said.

"We were," Hermione said, looking up at him.

"Please, stop bickering," Draco said. He sat up and said, "I think I'm fine now. I had a sharp pain in my back, but it's gone." Hermione looked over at his back as he sat up and gasped. Seamus stepped around and looked at the other man's back, and gasped as well.

"What?" Draco asked.

"Draco, you're bleeding, rather badly," Hermione said. "Did you get hurt in the fall, or by the attack?" she asked. She started to remove his jacket.

He stopped her by grabbing her hands and he said, "You called me Draco."

"What in the world is going on between you two?" Seamus asked.

Hermione stood suddenly and pointed at Seamus and said, "Keep your nose in your own business! Go to the common room and tell Harry and Ron that I'm in the Library, do you understand! Don't tell a soul anything!"

"Gee, calm down, Hermione," Seamus said. "You brought me out here, remember?" He sulked back down the dock, not glancing back once. Hermione got back down on her knees and again tried to remove Draco's jacket. He once more resisted.

"Go in the castle, Granger," he said. She called him Draco. He was changing everything. He was causing more harm than good. He struggled to his feet. She stayed on her knees and looked out toward the water. He looked down at her and said, "I'll go see the Medi-witch, okay? You go back in the castle, and take your own advice. Don't tell a soul about what happened. And don't ever call me Draco again. That was a mistake. We mustn't be seen together. We mustn't let anyone ever hear you call me Draco. It's a mistake and you will be in twice as much danger."

He started down the dock and she stayed where she was, on her knees, staring up at the bright moon above.

He reached the end of the dock and waited for her. Finally, she stood and rushed toward him. She came upon him and said, "What did I do that was so wrong? I thought we were becoming friends! I know you don't want anyone to know, but there's no one here right now. Why can't I call you Draco?"

"Because!" he bellowed at her. The pain in his back was excruciating, but he kept the pain inside and said, "You are a dirty, filthy Mudblood and I am a Death Eater. Enough said!"

"But you wrote in that note that you didn't hate me!" she said.

"Forget that blasted note!" he said back.

"You called me Hermione twice!" she said.

"Figments of your overactive imagination!" he yelled.

"You touch me frequently. Your arm went around my waist when I was talking about the blue moon; your hand was against mine earlier and in the greenhouse your hand was on my back! You even kissed me after the Quidditch tryouts!"

"I wouldn't touch you with gloves on!" he shouted.

"You don't hate me!" she said.

"I do! I hate you! You are a dirty, filthy, stinking, low-life Mudblood! I will kill you myself if you don't get out of my sight right now!" he said. He couldn't let her start to like him! It might change their future!

She looked liked she was about to either hit him or cry, but she did neither. She walked toward the castle, head held high, gait steady, showing that he had no influence on her whatsoever.

He started to follow, but then the pain hit him again and he collapsed back to his knees.

She heard him falter. She turned back toward him and walked toward where he fell to his knees. She knelt beside him. Without protest this time, she removed his jacket. With nimble fingers, and a gentleness, which made him ache inside, she raised his sweater. She looked at his wound and then said, "Will you at least let me help you to the Hospital Wing? You can hate me later."

He nodded.

She stood and put her hand under his arm. She helped him to stand. They went in the front doors, but then down a less crowded hallway, up to the Hospital wing. They were not accosted once on their journey.

Hermione waited outside while the Medi-witch examined Draco. When she was done with him, Draco walked back out of the double doors, where he saw Hermione sitting on the floor.

He gave her a shy smile. She asked, "Is all well?"

"I had what looked like an animal bite, she said. I told her that I had no idea how it happened. She said she would have to tell my head of house. I told her to go to hell," he relayed with a grin. He sat down beside her.

"How could that thing have bitten you, if it wasn't real?" she asked.

"Well, that's the question of the hour, isn't it?" he asked.

"Do you think it was intended for me?" she asked. She had her hands in her lap. He reached over to take her hand, and then thought against it. He let the back of his head hit the wall with a thump and closed his eyes, his hands in fist at his sides.

"Yes, I think it was meant for you," he said. He looked at her and said, "Tell me about a blue moon, Hermione."

They talked for over an hour. When the chime on the clock in the hall clanged ten, Hermione said, "its past curfew. We'll be late." She stood up. She watched as he struggled to his feet. He had a pained expression. She said, "Does it still hurt?"

"Only when I breathe," he joked.

"Do you hate me?" she asked. She looked at the floor.

"For now, that's the story, okay?" he answered. "I'll walk you to your floor. Then I need to find someone and get some answers from them." He held out his hand, to motion that she should walk before him.

They started down the hallway, with her several steps in front, so if anyone came along, they wouldn't think they were together. They walked up the staircase, and he still kept his distance. Once outside the portrait of 'The Fat Lady', Draco said, "Goodnight, Granger. Stay with Potter tomorrow, you hear?"

"Will you be at the first Quidditch game against Gryffindor on Saturday?" she asked.

He tried to remember if he was there. He knew he was still officially on the team, but didn't remember going to the first game. He spent the whole time fixing the cabinet. However this time, the blasted cabinet was already fixed. He said, "I don't know."

"Okay." She stood by the portrait, not about to say the password in front of him, and he turned to go. He turned back and ran toward her. This whole evening felt like they were constantly turning toward each other, and running away from each other. He turned her around, and pushed her toward the wall. He placed each arm beside her head.

If what she said about the blue moon was true, then what would be the harm if they saw each other? He leaned forward and said, "I'm not going to the game, but don't tell anyone. I want to see you tomorrow. See if you can get away during the game. Meet me outside, back of the Quidditch stands, right after the game starts."

She started to protest, but he placed his right hand on her cheek. He pressed his lips against her forehead. The feel of his long lean body warmed her all over. He kissed her forehead once more and said, "But don't tell anyone. Will you come?"

She nodded.

He smiled and ran to find Don Boot. The man had some explaining to do, about why there were really there, and why he didn't tell him about the fact that he couldn't change a thing in the past if everything they did occurred between two blue moons. He could fall in love again, and not hurt anyone! Yes, Don Boot had some explaining to do.


	9. Part IX

All characters belong to JKR

**Part IX**

**Draco questions Don:**

Draco tried to find Don that night, but ended up running into Filch instead and getting detention. When Snape found out the next day, he lifted the detention. Draco told Snape what Hermione told him about the Blue Moon.

"Don't you see?" Draco said. "I won't change anything! Why would he want me to believe I could? I can be with her, and it won't change the future!"

"Draco, you are being preposterous and worrying about the wrong things!" Snape criticized. "The thing you have to ask is, why come back to catch a woman who won't really be able to change anything during your present time. It makes no sense. Perhaps this Ellen doesn't know that, but Don Boot must. He must have another reason for bringing you here. Ask him the right questions when you see him."

Draco had to endure two classes before he saw Don. He cornered him in the hallway and said, "I know about the Blue Moon."

Don didn't look surprised. He ushered Draco into his office, shut the door, and said, "So does your father apparently. I had a dream last night, which I am sure was a message from Nick, that Hermione told your father everything, including the facts about the Blue Moon."

"Why lie to me?" Draco asked.

"It was an omission, not a lie," Don said, frustrated. He sat at his desk and said, "First, Ellen doesn't know about that. She doesn't even know how to get back. These facts were in the second book, not the one she took. Second, the problem with you being friendly with Hermione is the fact that it didn't happen the first time, and Ellen will know that. She will become suspicious if you do. She will be aware we are here, and she might wait until we go back to try to hurt Hermione."

"I won't go back until she does," Draco said.

"Fine, then you will never go back," Don said. "Because just as she doesn't know how to get back, you don't know that we must go back before the second blue moon ending phase, or we won't be able to go back."

"We will be stuck here?" Draco asked.

"Not just stuck, but we might die if we try to go back after the second moon," Don answered.

"Fine, but still, Snape pointed out something. If Ellen cannot change the future if she acts between the two blue moons, which means she **can** kill Hermione here and still **not** kill the Hermione in the future, then why did we even come? All we had to do was wait things out. The second blue moon will come, she won't know how to get back, and even if she did, it will be too late for her. Something else just occurred to me as well. If she doesn't know about the Blue Moon, why did she come back to this time?"

Don sighed. He wasn't ready to tell Draco everything yet.

"She came back to this time because Paul told her this would be the best time to come back. She told Paul about the fact that she had the book smuggled to her. She thinks Paul is on her side, but he is acting as a double agent, so to speak. His loyalties are to us. He suggested that she go back this time, because he DID know about the blue moon. He suggested this time because he thought she couldn't hurt Hermione, but then she left before she told him she was going to leave, so the protection of the blue moon won't apply to her. She will be able to kill Hermione. She can kill whomever she likes, and believe me, she will alter the future," Don said. "It's only you and I who will not."

"That's stupid. Why is that?" Draco asked.

"Because we came exactly six weeks before the blue moon, and we will leave exactly six weeks after the next one. We won't affect anything, because we are using the moon's protection, its magic. We calculated our arrival exactly. The first time I came back," Don started, "I was only coming back to trace her. It didn't matter if I came right back. The second time I came back, the night I was to come back with Paul, was calculated precisely to be six weeks before the moon came to the sky. It is so we can't change the future. You either. The magic of the blue moon holds no affect over Ellen. She can change the future. She can live and die in this time. She can kill in this time. She can and will change the future."

"Hermione didn't tell me about that," Draco said, frightened suddenly.

"She probably didn't know," Don said. "We needed to time our arrival precisely so that we couldn't get hurt. The thing that's important to us is that we go back at the precise time, or else we will die. We can't exist on both dimensions. We can't live with one mind, one soul, one consciousness, with two bodies. Our bodies of the future die."

"Damn, that was an important thing to tell me," Draco said. "Wait a minute. That means I can't go back until way after the baby's born!"

Don waited a few moments and said, "I know. I should have told you, but knowing you, you would have still wanted to come."

Hermione was trying to find Don Boot. She wanted to find out what connection Don had with Draco. She approached his office and saw the door was closed. She was sure she heard Draco's voice. She said a spell so that if she pressed her ear to the wood, she would hear their voices. She didn't feel right snooping, but she felt desperate to know what was being said.

"I'm still confused," Draco said. "So Ellen can still kill Hermione and it will change everything."

"Right."

"But we can't change a thing, so we can't really stop her?" Draco asked.

"We can. Remember. No blue moon protection for her. We can kill her in this time, and she will die in that time. The problem is still that she is not using her own body. If she is in someone else, than her body in this time is in stasis just as her body in the future is in stasis. Which means someone is watching that body. That's what I've been doing. I'm trying to find her body."

"There were two voices, last night on the pier, and a couple weeks ago after the Quidditch tryouts. She has an accomplice," Draco said.

"Yes, but is it someone from now, or the future?" Don asked, more to himself. He turned back to Draco and said, "Listen, the important thing is that we find her. We can't find her if you are going about holding hands with Hermione. You can't let anyone know that you are here from the future. You can't let anyone know about you and Hermione. Continue to watch her carefully, but don't mess with anything. After the phase of the blue moon, if we don't go back, we have no ideal if what we do during the interim might change things later. Rowena wrote nothing about that, so she probably didn't know. Just stay away from her."

That was going to be easier said than done.

**What did Hermione think?**

Hermione ran from the Professor's door. What did they mean; they were here from the future, and here to protect her? Protect her from whom? Someone named Ellen. Did she and Draco have a relationship in the future? Her head was spinning and as she walked to her last class of the day, which was Herbology, she tried to sort out the facts in her mind, to no avail.

During Herbology Hermione tried to catch Draco's attention, but he was avoiding her. She wrote something quickly on a piece of parchment. She wanted to see him before their planned meeting tomorrow. Would he even keep that meeting tomorrow now that Professor Boot warned him away from her?

Harry, under the Muffilato spell so no one could hear them, started to tell her and Ron about what he found out from his last lesson with Dumbledore. He was supposed to get a memory from Slughorn, something about a Horcrux. Hermione was barely listening. She wanted to tell Harry about what she found out, but he had enough conspiracy theories regarding Draco, so she didn't want to add to the fray.

While they were talking, the Gnarled Stump plant they were working on became ensnarled in her hair. Everyone in the class laughed at her. Harry and Ron began to untangle her. As she worked to release her hair with the boys, her hand became stuck in a pod. In all the commotion, she didn't notice that Draco had left the classroom until she looked over at his table.

Harry mentioned Slughorn's upcoming Christmas party, and wondered if he might corner him during the party to find out about the memory. Ron said, "What's so special about some stupid party?"

"Well, the Slugclub was all invited," Hermione began.

"Oh well then, if the Slugclub was all invited, I hope you all have a grand old time," Ron said.

"We are all allowed to bring a guest, and I was going to ask you, but if you are going to act that way, perhaps I will ask someone else!" she said, struggling once more with the pod from the plant. Finally, she just stuck her knife right in the center, and the puss they were to extract went everywhere.

She was in a rotten mood by the time class finished. It was the last class before the weekend. She started to walk back up to the castle, but caught up with Harry first. She really needed to talk with him. "Harry, may I speak with you?"

"Listen, if this is about you and Ron, I just don't want to get in the middle of it, okay? Just talk things out with him," Harry said.

"It's not about him," she said.

"Wait a moment," Harry said, "I see Dean and I need to ask him a question." Harry jutted toward Dean, away from Hermione. He asked Dean Thomas to take Katie Bell's place at the Quidditch match tomorrow. She waited for them to finish talking, and turned to watch Ron walking up the path, holding Lavender's hand as he went.

Damn Ron and Harry, anyhow. She just realized that she left her Herbology book on her table in the Greenhouse. She walked back to the Greenhouse, but was slightly afraid to walk inside, after what happened the last time she was alone in there. She walked to the door, to find Draco with her book.

"I forgot my book," she said.

"So I see," he said tersely. He handed her the book and shouldered past her in the doorway.

"Why did you leave class?" she asked.

"None of your business," he said back.

"Why did you come back?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes and said, "I'm not accountable to you. Leave me be, Mudblood."

"Please don't call me that," she said.

He approached her, taking four long strides toward her, and pressed her against the outside panes of the Greenhouse. "Why not? Its what you are."

She took two deep breaths and then handed him a note. "Will you read this?"

"No." He crumbled the note up in his fist and threw it on the ground.

"What's wrong? Why do you keep going from hot to cold with me? First you are nice to me on the dock, then horrible, then nice in the infirmary, and now horrible again."

"We aren't friends, you know," was all Draco could think of to say.

"I thought we were," she said back. She looked so sad. He wanted to hold her so badly that his arms ached.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was going to be hard. He still didn't see the harm, if they were nice to each other in private, what would be the harm? Could he just be 'nice' though, or would he press for more? That was the question. How much control did he have? He decided he had no control so he turned to walk away.

"Are we still meeting tomorrow, during the match?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He continued to walk away. She followed. She pulled on his sleeve and said, "Are you the real Draco Malfoy or are you a Draco Malfoy from the future?"

Draco turned around shocked! He knew his mouth was agape and his eyes wide. "What did you ask me?"

"I overheard some of what you were discussing with Professor Boot," she said.

His eyes narrowed and he pushed her into a tree. "You overheard us in an office with a closed door?"

"Well, I was eavesdropping," she admitted.

Figures, he thought. "Stop it." He couldn't think of anything else to say at that moment. "Stop eavesdropping, stop bothering me, stop making this out to be something its not. We aren't friends! I don't like you. Leave me alone."

He turned for what he hoped would be the last time and she said, "Who is Ellen and why is she trying to kill me?"

He stormed back this time, so angry that he could throttle her. In fact, he actually took one hand and placed it on her neck, backing her against the tree once more. He applied minimal pressure but said, "The only person who wants to kill your right now is me!"

Blaise and Pansy came up the walk. They both looked shocked at what they overheard and what they were seeing.

Blaise said, "While normally I would let you kill the Mudblood, Draco, lets not do it before Slytherins big match with Gryffindor, alright?"

Harry Potter came running down the path, with Ron right behind him. Draco still had a furious look on his face, and his hand was still pressed against her neck, her back still against the tree. Harry drew his wand and yelled, "Let her go!"

Draco gave Hermione a final glare, and then for all to hear said, "This isn't over, Mudblood. Don't tell anyone what you overheard, you hear me?" He looked at Harry and said, "Put your wand away, Potter. We all know you are all talk, and no action." He stormed up the path, with Blaise and Pansy behind him.

Hermione collapsed against the tree. Ron forgot his recent argument with her and kneeled down beside her. Harry watched Malfoy until he was out of sight.

He turned to Hermione and said, "Why is he so intent to hurt you this year? Do you know something you aren't telling me? What did you overhear about Malfoy?"

She shook her head and said, "Not a clue. I don't know to what he's referring. Help me up, Ron." Ron stood and helped her up. Hermione bent down to pick up the note she wrote to Draco, in which he threw on the ground. Ron bent down and picked up her books. As they walked up the path, Harry was worried. He knew Draco was trying to do something this year, and he was positive that he was now a Death Eater, although he had yet to see the Dark Mark. He also knew that Hermione had to know something important that she wasn't telling anyone.

**Gryffindor against Slytherin:**

Hermione and Ron fought again that morning. She fought with Harry as well. She didn't approve of him putting the Felix Felicis in Ron's morning Pumpkin juice, although Harry claimed he didn't, she was sure he had.

She left the table, not caring any longer, when Seamus ran up to her.

"What do you want, Seamus?"

"Well, Harry over there asked me to stick by you like glue, since he will be busy with the match. Any clue as to why you need a babysitter?" Seamus asked.

"No clue," she lied. "Seamus, I really don't feel like staying at the game. How about we both pretend to go, and then we cover for each other again. You can go to see Susan, and I can just have some peace and quiet."

"No Draco Malfoy," Seamus said. "Harry was adamant about that."

"Well, Harry Potter isn't my boss, or yours, is he? He can't tell us what to do. We are almost grown. I'm seventeen years old. I'm a legal adult in our world," she said. "We aren't children to be bossed around by him." She was trying to play on his pride, and it was working.

"You're right. Potter wouldn't even let me on the bloody team, and I've been his roommate since first year. We will go to the game, let Harry see us, and then we will both leave, agreed?" Seamus said with a smile.

Hermione smiled back and said, "Sounds amendable."

The problem was that Draco never showed up outside the stands as he had told her he would. She wasn't able to give him the other note, so he didn't know that she still wanted to meet him. She went back up to the common room and soon the whole house of Gryffindor filed in the doorway, laughing and singing Ron's praises.

"We won, Hermione!" Ginny said to her.

"Congratulations!" she said, popping up.

"How did you get back up here? Where's Seamus?" Harry asked.

"Upstairs," she lied. "We left early because I had a headache."

"Malfoy wasn't at the game. Some other bloke played in his place. I know he's up to something."

"Give it a rest, please," she said, rubbing her forehead, a real headache close to the surface.

"Fine, but I didn't see you there the whole time either." Harry spat. "Did you at least see Ron play? I didn't give him the Felix, by the way. I only pretended to do it."

Ron leaned over and said, "Yeah, Hermione. You thought I couldn't do it without it, and I did!" Just then, Lavender came up to Ron.

"I knew you could do it," she said. She took his hand and led him over to a chair in the corner, where they started to snog like crazy.

Hermione knew that she should feel jealous. She liked Ron, didn't she? Nevertheless, she wasn't jealous in the slightest. For some reason, seeing Ron kiss Lavender made her miss Draco, and she wasn't sure why. She was jealous, but she was jealous that Draco hadn't kissed her like that.

With Harry in the midst of a celebration, she slipped out of the common room, and went down the sixth floor corridor, found an abandoned classroom, sat at the teacher's desk, and started to cry. She didn't even know why she was crying. She just was.

The classroom door creaked open, and Hermione quickly raised her head. It was Draco.

"Oh, what do you want? If I have to leave you alone, you have to leave me alone as well!" She placed her head back on the desk.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, ignoring her request to 'leave her alone'.

"Ron is off snogging Lavender. He thinks I didn't support him."

"Ugh, let them snog, who cares," he said. He sat on the teacher's desk, near her chair. His thigh touched her arm, as it rested on the desk, cradling her head. Her cries began to lessen, and her breathing became steadier. He couldn't control himself. He reached out and stroked her hair.

He missed her so much. What harm would come of them meeting in private?

The feel of his hand stroking her hair felt warm and familiar. She didn't know why he acted so mean one second and so nice the next. At that moment, she didn't care. She just wanted him to keep stroking her hair.

He took his wand and bolted the door. Then he reached for her upper arm, and drew her to a standing position. He pulled her over so that she stood between his legs. He placed his left hand on her right arm, and his right hand went up to her face. He caught a tear as it ran down her cheek with his thumb. He looked at the tear and said, "Don't shed a tear for Ron Weasley. Not even a one."

"I'm not."

"Then who are these tears for, Hermione?" he asked softly, anticipating an answer.

"You," she said back softly.

He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he pulled her closer. He realized something, standing here with the woman he loved nestled between his legs. He wasted so much time hating her. They would have apparently fallen in love sooner, if only he had been open to her. He was such a fool. His hand went back to her face and he stroked her cheek again with his thumb, as his hand cupped her face. He placed his left hand on her back, and skidded off the desk. He leaned against the desk, his legs apart, and he pulled her to his body. She was trembling.

With his hand on her back, and the other still on her face, he said, "No one must know about us. It would cause more damage than you realize. Don't ask me anymore questions either, because I really can't answer them."

She nodded.

"Come here," he said.

A small smile came on her face and she placed her hands on his chest. She said, "I think I am 'as here' as I can be."

"Oh, yeah," he said with a grin. He leaned forward and kissed her tear soaked cheek, tasting the salty tears. He kissed first the right one, then the left. He looked at her lips, which were swollen and wet from crying.

He licked his own, looked in her eyes, back to her lips, and descended his head toward hers to kiss her, when Harry Potter knocked on the door and said, "Hermione, it's Harry! Open the door. I know you're in there!"


	10. Part X

All characters belong to JKR

**Part X:**

**Lions at the Gate:**

Draco's mouth stopped centimeters from Hermione's mouth. She looked appalled and pushed him away. He grabbed her wrist, but she wrenched it out of his grasp. She said, "Harry's at the door."

"Damn Scarhead," Draco said, moving away from the desk. He grabbed her arm once more.

The knocking continued and Harry said, "Hermione? I know you're in there. You always come to this room when you're upset. Please let me in so I can talk with you."

Hermione removed her arm from Draco's hand again and whispered, "Did anyone see you enter?"

"No."

"Hide under the desk," she said, pulling back the chair.

"I absolutely will not!" he said. However, he was whispering.

"Please," she said. Harry continued to knock on the door, calling her name.

Draco grimaced, but got down on his hands and knees and sat under the desk. Hermione pushed the chair back toward the desk to hide him and she went to open the door, just as Harry was opening the same door with magic.

"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked.

"What do you think?" she asked back. She sat on the front edge of the teacher's desk, dangling her legs as she conjured a flock of yellow canaries, which flew around the room. She said, "Don't worry about me, Harry. I'll be fine. Right as rain, really. Ron hasn't upset me too badly." She meant that truthfully.

As the canaries floated overhead, Harry sat beside Hermione, unaware that Draco Malfoy was under the desk. He said, "Ron's such a git."

Hermione smiled and said, "My sentiments exactly. I've been a fool, haven't I?"

"No," Harry said. "I wish he wouldn't flaunt her in your face like that. That's bang out of line, and he knows it."

Suddenly, Ron and Lavender, as if on cue, came stumbling in the doorway, arms and hands all over each other, both in a disheveled state, so that it was apparent what they had been doing and what they had hoped to continue in the room in which they all now found themselves.

Lavender held onto Ron's arm and laughed. Ron's face turned scarlet red and he stammered, "Oh, Harry, Hermione, Um, well, we were, well, we were just, you know, looking for a place to be alone."

"To kiss," Lavender added with a laugh.

"Well, don't let us stop you," Hermione said, jumping off the desk, hurt and embarrassed, but more so because she knew Draco was under the desk, and he could hear what she imaged was 'her shame'. Harry jumped off the desk after she did. Hermione started to walk out of the room, but then remembered that Draco wouldn't be able to leave. She turned back around and said, "On second thought, I think I will stop you."

Hermione pointed her wand toward the small flock of canaries that had been floating aimlessly overhead. Before Ron could even blink, she had sent them toward the pair. The little birds began circling their heads, and suddenly started pecking at Ron.

He flayed his arms about, yelling, and said, "Get 'em off me, Hermione! Harry, stop laughing, help me you arse!"

Ron and Lavender ran out of the room, the canaries following. Harry turned to Hermione and said, "Now that was a right good piece of magic, Miss Granger."

She smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Potter."

"Come join the celebration," Harry said, taking her hands.

"I don't feel like celebrating," she said.

"But we beat Slytherin you know," he said.

"Yes, I know," she said, suddenly weary. She sat back on the desk.

Harry said, "You know that Malfoy wasn't there, don't you? Some other bloke played his position. I asked around, and he's not been at any of their practices. I wonder what he's up to."

"Let's not talk about that right now," Hermione pleaded, fully aware that Draco was under the desk.

"I can't help it," Harry said. "I just know he's a Death Eater now. He's taking up where Daddy left off, and he's up to something bad. I need to prove it."

Hermione looked back toward the desk. She wondered how much more Draco would listen to before he showed himself. "Harry, let's not keep going on and on about that," she said.

"What's with you? You know that he's the one trying to hurt you. You aren't safe. He's said it himself. Why are you so quick to defend him?" Harry asked, annoyed.

"He said I wasn't safe. He never said he wanted to hurt me," she said.

"He doesn't have to say it. He shows how much he hates you everyday. His whole life is wrapped up in the belief that you and your kind are a blemish on our society! Hermione, you aren't safe! He wants to hurt you, maybe to get back at me, or maybe because you are Muggle-born, or maybe because he's just a Death Eater, and that's what they do, but you aren't safe and I don't know why you won't believe me when I say he's bad and will hurt you." He took her arm and said, "Let's go. You can't stay here by yourself."

Hermione pulled her arm from his hand and said, "I know what his history is, but we have no proof that he's up to anything this year, and he hasn't tried to personally hurt me."

"He was the one that pushed you down the stairs at the station!" Harry said.

"We don't know that!"

"He locked you in the greenhouse," Harry concluded.

"Why would he lock himself in as well?" she asked.

"What about that hex outside of Potions?" Harry asked.

"He wasn't even in the hallway," Hermione reasoned.

"Fine, answer this one! He was at Borgin and Burkes, where you saw that necklace, the same necklace that was delivered to Hogsmeade, and Katie Bell almost died! Also, you have to know that he's the one that pushed you in the closet the other day with all those rats! You heard McGonagall! She said that the door was charmed to lock, and that the rats were no ordinary rats. They bit you, Hermione!" Harry droned on. Hermione looked toward the desk. Draco didn't even know about the incident with the closet and the rats. That was why she was so upset that day in Hogsmeade, when Pansy mentioned the rats in the alley. It reminded her of what happened earlier that week.

**Snakes on the Ground:**

Under the desk, sitting on the ground, like a common rat himself, Draco was incensed! He was with Potter on this. He was sure the rat incident wasn't some harmless prank. She could have been seriously injured. As it was, she was probably scared! He was also upset that Potter would think he would do something like that, but then he remembered that as a kid, he did do his share of thoughtless, cruel tings.

He wanted to crawl out from under the desk and yell at both of them for the fact that she was even left alone!

"The rats wouldn't have killed me. They hurt me and scared me, but they weren't deadly," Hermione said.

"You don't know that. You only suffered three bites before Terry Boot found you, and went to get McGonagall to open the door! Madame Pomfrey said that rats carry all sorts of diseases, and these weren't ordinary rats! You could have been permanently injured. As it is, you have marks on your leg that will probably scar."

Hermione tried to make light and she said, "Scars aren't that bad, or so I've heard."

"If you weren't alone, that wouldn't have happened. Malfoy wouldn't have gotten to you," Harry said. Draco agreed wholeheartedly, at least about the alone part.

"First, Malfoy seems like he would be smarter than to set rats after me. Second, I'm a capable woman and an excellent witch. I really can take care of myself. You are probably in more danger everyday of your life than I am. Please, don't worry."

Harry sighed and said, "I can't help it. I can't stand the fact that my friends are in danger because of me. I feel so out of control. First, there's the task that Dumbledore wants me to do, then there's the fight between you and Ron, and the whole Malfoy thing. Please, just watch out for yourself."

"I will. Go back to the celebration. I just need some more time alone, and then I promise I'll be right along. Okay?" she said. She leaned forward and hugged him tight. Harry gave her a sad smile and left the room. She stood in front of the closed door, fully aware that Draco was crawling out from under the desk.

He walked up behind her. She didn't turn around. Had he heard too much? Would he wonder what Harry had meant about the task that he was set to do for Dumbledore? Would he be angry about the accusations Harry leveled against him? She wondered all these things, even as he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her around.

Yet, the question he asked was one she never thought he would ask. He asked, "May I see your leg, Granger?"

**Birds in the Air:**

"What?" she asked, even as he was leaning down and pushing the leg of her jean upward. She kicked out at him, and moved aside. "Stop it."

He stood back up. He had to remember that this wasn't HIS Hermione. This Hermione wasn't used to him touching her. She wasn't used to his caring about her. He stepped backwards, hands raised in the air and he said, "I want to see where the rat bit you, that's all."

"Why, morbid curiosity?" she asked. That was what he asked her when she asked to see his Dark Mark again.

He threw up his arms in aggravation. "You are so frustrating!"

"ME?" she practically screamed. "How about you, Malfoy?" She began to walk around the room. She said, "First you show concern for me on the train, because someone pushed me down the stairs, then you kiss me, you called me Hermione twice, you scream at me that you hate me and that we aren't friends, then you give me a note to say that you don't hate me…" as she continued to rant, Draco smiled and wondered if she had taken a breath… "Then you want to see my leg!"

Draco held up one finger and said, "You have the order of events completely wrong."

"What is with you?" she asked.

"You wouldn't believe me," he said. He stepped closer to her and she placed her hands in front of her, to ward him away.

"Why didn't you meet me during the game?" she asked. "We had agreed to meet."

He couldn't even answer that one. He wouldn't be able to answer any of her questions, of that he was sure. He spent the earlier part of the day with Don. They were trying to find Ellen. Don had a dream last night that she was definitely close to them. He didn't know if Nick was able to feel her trace again, or if Nick merely sensed her, but somehow Nick made it clear to Don last night that she was someone who was close to them. Whether that meant physically close or close on a personal level, Don didn't know. Therefore, Draco and Don had spent the morning making a list of suspects. Unfortunately, the list was long and not at all helpful.

If Draco could try to figure out who might have pushed her in the closet, it might help. He said, "I can't tell you why I didn't meet you, but that's not important. I want to try something. I want you to trust me, and the only way I know to do that is to show you something." He took one-step closer, and she backed against the wall. He raised his left sleeve and showed her the Dark Mark.

He said, "I was forced to take this mark. I didn't do it willingly, and I don't brandish it as a badge of honour. I'm ashamed of it. I always was. I used to show it to people to intimidate them, or impress them, but the fact remains that I have always been ashamed of it. Go on, touch it."

She hadn't even realized she had reached out toward his arm until he told her to touch it. She slowly reached forward, and with her index finger, she touched the center of the Dark Mark.

He pulled his arm back quickly and screamed, "AHH! That burns!"

She inhaled, gasped, and jumped away. He started to laugh. She hit his chest with first one hand, and then the other and said, "You are such an arse! I thought I hurt you or something!"

"I know." He pulled his sleeve down. That was something he did to her years ago, also. They were lying in bed, late at night, and she reached over and began to outline his Dark Mark. She had never done more than casually touch it before that moment. As she touched it, and traced it, he smiled inwardly. She thought he was asleep, but he wasn't, so when he sat upright, held his arm, and started to scream in pain, she actually fell out of bed and screamed back at him.

He began to laugh and roll around on the bed. He said, "You should have seen your face!"

She said a few choice words, gave him an evil glare, and then stormed out of their bedroom and locked herself in the guestroom until the morning.

Good times indeed.

He let that memory pass quickly and said, "I want you to trust me, so I want you to see that I trust you, Granger. I'm trusting that you won't tell anyone about the Dark Mark."

"I've already seen it, and I've not told anyone, so you should already trust me. That doesn't mean I should trust you," she reasoned.

He leaned toward her and stroked her hair with the back of hand, crossing it over in front of her face, and then stroking the other side of her hair with the palm of his hand. He said, "You already trust me, Hermione. You wouldn't allow me to be so close if you didn't."

She knew he was right. "Tell me why you were forced to take the Dark Mark. Tell me who forced you to do so. Tell me that Harry's suspicions that you are up to something this year isn't true. Please tell me you had nothing to do with harming Katie Bell. Tell me these things and I may or may not trust you," she said softly.

He took a deep breath, leaned his face toward hers, and rested his forehead on her shoulder. He said, "I'm just asking for some trust and some time. I'm not sure I can tell you yet."

"Because you don't trust me yet, so why should I trust you?" she asked. She placed her hands on his shoulders. He was so close that she could smell his aftershave, and what's more, she smelled the same smell she did in that first potion lesson and that only made her more confused.

"I trust you more than I trust anyone. I trust you with my life," he said softly, his lips at her ear. His hands went from the wall, where they were supporting his weight, and then they traveled from her shoulders to her elbows, then they traveled the full length of her arms. He pulled her hands away from his shoulders, and he held her hands in his. "When I'm certain that the truth won't change things, I'll tell you it. I promise. However, right now I just want to see your leg. Show me your leg, please."

He moved his face in front of hers. She nodded. He let go of hands and stepped back a step. He kneeled down in front of her. He pointed toward her left leg. She shook her head no. He pushed up the pant leg on her right side. He saw three bandaged on her right calf, one near the ankle, one on the back of her calf, and one near the back of her knee. He hurt, deep in his heart, just at the thought of how scared she must have been. He pulled away the bandage of the bite near the back of her knee. He looked up at her, holding the bandage, and noticed how hard she was breathing. He squinted his eyes and looked back at the bite mark. He wanted to kiss it, but that would be wrong on so many levels his head spun just at the thought of it. Instead, he handed her the bandage, and let her pants leg fall back down, as he stood up. He placed his right hand on the side of her head and said, "I'm sorry for everything. I've done a terrible job protecting you. I'll do a better job watching you. I promise."

She pushed away from him and said, "What do you mean? You're watching me? Protecting me? From what?"

He shook his head and said, "I don't know what I just said. It didn't mean anything."

"NO!" she shouted, moving away from him. "Not again! You can't go hot and then cold! What did you mean? Tell me Malfoy! Tell me or leave me the hell alone!"

The door flew open, and Seamus and Susan Bones walked in, arm in arm, smiling, apparently wanting to use the room for the same thing in which Ron and Lavender did. However, they both heard Hermione yelling at Draco. They saw her pained expression, and the fact that she had her arms out in front of her. They both heard her tell Malfoy to leave her alone. Seamus pulled his wand and Susan rushed to Hermione's side.

"Leave her be, Malfoy, or I'll tell Harry."

This was how it should be. He was letting his emotions put her in danger. He said, "That's right, Shamrock boy. Watch out for her, or else she might end up a very dead, little Gryffindor." The canaries that Hermione had conjured earlier, which had followed Ron out of the room, floated back in the classroom, and faded away while circling their heads. All four of them watched as they died out. Draco looked back at the trio and said, "She will be just like those little birds. Here one minute, gone the next. Be forewarned. Don't let her alone for a moment."

He pushed passed Seamus, who still had his wand out, and ran out of the room. He had no idea if the blue moon was protecting him from changing the future or not, but he knew one thing: she was in danger here in the present, and there didn't seem to be one thing Draco could do to protect her in the here and now. That made him feel very powerless and useless, two emotions he absolutely hated.


	11. Part XI

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XI: **

**Sense of Loneliness:**

After Draco left the classroom and Hermione, he tried to find Don Boot, but once again, the man was gone. Was he trying to find Ellen? Was he up to something else? Draco was beginning to wonder whom he could trust. He wasn't even sure he could trust himself.

He decided to Owl his mother and have her send him any books they might have at the Manor concerning "Blue Moons". He told her it was for a report. The truth of the matter was he needed to make sure he couldn't change the future, and if that was the fact, then he needed to find out why they were really here.

Hermione was still in danger, that much was true, so apparently Ellen was here, somewhere, and she could harm the Hermione of the past. He still needed to protect her. At least her knew that much, even if he knew nothing else.

He went back to his common room, decided to forgo dinner, yet again. Pansy walked through the dungeon's doorway and saw him on the couch. She said, "May I sit with you?"

"I'm not in the mood for company," he said.

"I won't talk," she promised.

He motioned with his hand that she should sit down. He rubbed his temple, as a headache had begun to form. After a few moments of silence, Pansy broke her word not to speak and said, "May I ask you a question?"

"Go on," he said, eyes shut, head on the back of the couch, his arm over his eyes.

"Is there something going on between you and the Mudblood?" she asked.

Draco stood up so suddenly it scared them both. All his frustrations from the previous weeks had finally boiled to the head with that one accusation from this one girl. He shouted, "I would kill her with my own hands if I could!" In his heart, he was referring to Ellen, but Pansy need never know that his rant wasn't about Hermione. "She is all that I hate in this world! She is trying to ruin everything I hold dear! She wants to ruin my future and my past! I hate that stupid bitch!"

Blaise Zabini had walked in, overheard Draco's rant, saw Pansy cowering, close to tears, in the corner of the couch, and he turned around and walked back out of the room.

Draco kicked the coffee table, picked up a bowl and flung it across the room, and ran out of his dorm, straight upstairs to the Room of Requirement. He didn't need to work on the cabinet. The damn thing was fixed. He needed some time alone. He needed to think. He needed to be by himself. He needed home!

He walked past the empty wall, thinking exactly what he wanted. He passed through the door. Unknown to him, Harry Potter was underneath his invisibility cloak, watching and waiting. Harry spent the next hour trying to enter the room.

Draco spent the next hour at his home in Hogsmeade, and even if this was all pretend, an illusion, make believe, it was just what his mind, body and soul needed, in order for him to survive.

He walked around their living room for the longest time. It looked much the same. He picked up a sweater, which was on the back of a rocker. It was hers. He placed it over his mouth and nose and took a deep sniff. It smelled just like her. Magic could be wonderful, or it could be pure hell, and at that moment, it was both.

He wandered aimlessly throughout the downstairs of their house. Everything looked so real. He walked down the hallway to the kitchen, almost expecting to see Hermione. If he could see his house, why couldn't he see her?

He knew the answer. It was because this wasn't real. This wasn't his home and it might never be if he didn't stop Ellen. He felt more alone than ever.

He missed his wife. His pregnant wife. He decided to leave the Room of Requirement while he still had an ounce of sanity intact. He walked out of the kitchen, back through the hall, and took one last look in the living room. His heart leapt at the sight in front of him. It was she! It was Hermione. He reached out for her, and said her name. She turned around, smiled, and then disappeared. The whole house just disappeared, and he was back inside the large empty Room of Requirement. He sat on the floor and cried.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he finally left the Room of Requirement only to find Blaise Zabini outside in the hall, waiting for him. Blaise said, "I thought you would be in there. You go in there a lot anymore. Would you like to enlighten me as to what you are doing?"

"No, not really," Draco said.

"You look like the Hogwarts express has just run you over, Draco. You're paler than usual, you aren't eating. You aren't sleeping. You sulk around here, but you aren't really here. And I don't care what you say to Pansy, I think there is something going on with you and the Mudblood. Does it have to do with the task you are meant to do for the Dark Lord?"

Draco leaned against the wall and said, "I can't talk about that. You know that."

"You don't really have to do anything you don't want to do, you know," Blaise said softly. "When the war starts, and it will start soon, my mother has arranged to put me in hiding. You could come, Draco. We could leave now. Hide away now."

"Some things can't be hidden from, Blaise. Anyway, you could easily hide. Your father, mother and aunt weren't Death Eaters. You didn't have the Dark Mark. I did. You had choices in which I didn't." Draco just realized he was speaking in the past tense. "I mean, you have choices, and I don't. I don't even know what I'm saying." Draco sat down on the floor.

Blaise said, "Well, just think about it. Nevertheless, I think you should stop threatening to kill Granger. I know that can't be your task, and I'm not sure I believe it anyway, but someone might believe you, and if she comes to harm, you'll be suspected."

"You don't know that's not my task. Maybe it is." Draco held his head in his hands. "Maybe my whole purpose in life revolves around Hermione Granger. Leave me alone, Blaise."

Blaise walked down the long corridor, looking back twice. Harry Potter walked away under the cloak, in the other direction, angry and upset. He was right. Draco Malfoy was the one trying to hurt Hermione. It was the task the Dark Lord gave him, no doubt to weaken Harry. Take away all those near and dear to him. It was no use talking to Hermione. She wouldn't believe him. She didn't believe that Draco was bad. He needed to get word to Remus or Ron's father. He wouldn't bother Dumbledore with this, not until he had proof.

**Return of Don Boot:**

October was ending, and Don Boot, who really had disappeared according to Professor Snape, and whom Draco had not spoken to since the incident on the dock, finally reappeared. He was following a lead on Ellen's whereabouts. He saw how gaunt and desperate looking Draco had become. He was tempted to send him back, if only he could. Neither of them could leave until the phase of the next blue moon, or they would wreck havoc with the future.

After Potions class, Draco remained in his seat. Don told Slughorn he would clean up. He waited until they were alone and then he said, "What's wrong, Draco?"

"Why are we really here?" Draco asked without looking at Don.

"You know why we're here," Don said. "We've already discussed this, and I don't want to discuss it anymore."

"Well I don't know anything anymore." Draco stood up and said, "Are you still my friend?"

Don looked almost wounded. He said, "I love you, Draco, as much as I love my own brothers."

"Why didn't you come back this year to save Terry? Couldn't you do that and not change the future?"

"No, because Terry's not alive in the future. Magic doesn't quite work like that."

"Why haven't we found Ellen?" he asked next. "If you have a trace on her, we should have found her by now."

"Draco, what's wrong, truly?" Don asked.

Draco rushed up to the older man and placed his hands on the front of his robes. He said, "I MISS MY WIFE! MY PREGNANT WIFE! I'm missing so much! I will never get this time back!" He let go of Don's robe and said, "If we can't change the future, how can we stop Ellen, who **can** change the future."

"We'll find her and send her back. That's how we'll stop her, and we will find her," Don said.

"Hermione is getting hurt in this time," Draco said.

"I know. I know about the rat situation. Terry told me," Don said back.

"So if nothing we do can change the future, how do we know that things Ellen is doing to her isn't changing the future? She's not protected by the magic of the blue moon," Draco stated.

Suddenly, Don exploded. Draco had never seen true anger from the man. He picked up one of the long tables in the room and toppled it over, and all the beakers and vials crashed to the ground!

"FINE DRACO!" Don said. "I've been asking the same things! I'm concerned, too! I'm beginning to wonder about things as well. I'm beginning to mistrust my own brothers! What if Nick or Paul lied to us? What if they knew Ellen couldn't change anything, or even worse, what if they knew she could and they knew we were powerless to stop it! I can't even go back and question them! All we can do is carry on as we are, and with what we know. I don't have any other answers. I don't know what you want from me!"

Don sat at the teacher's desk and hung his head. "I'm tired and alone and afraid, too. I thought we at least had each other, but I now know we don't." He looked up at Draco, who looked confused. "If you question my ethics, well, I don't know what I'll do. I have dedicated my very life to protecting you and Hermione, and you know that."

Draco suddenly felt terrible for the thoughts he had been harbouring for his best friend. He knew that Don suffered as well. He must miss his family, and it must be as hard for him to see Terry everyday as it was for Draco to see Hermione. He walked over to Don and said, "Your brothers made the same vow so don't question them. I won't question any of you any longer, either. I'm just tired. I should have listened to you. I'm not strong enough to not only relive this year, but to see Hermione get hurt, and to not be with her in the future. And I can't stand the thought that I won't even be there to see my child born."

"I know. I should have told you that we wouldn't be able to come back in time for that before we left. I'm sorry," Don said solemnly.

"What if we tried to go back now?" Draco asked.

"We can't. We would die in the future. I'm not sure why, but I know that Rowena wrote that down in her journals. It was very specific."

"What if we don't find Ellen before the next blue moon? Do we go back anyway, and leave her here?" Draco asked.

"We have to find her. That's not an option," Don said.

"But if we don't, do one of us have to stay, while the other goes back?" Draco asked. He was afraid of that very thing. He knew he would want to go back, which meant Don would be stuck here, which would hurt just as much.

"We can't do that either. We would cease to exist on the other side, if we don't go back. It's the protection of the magic of the blue moon. We would revert to our old selves, in this time, and cease to be in the future. We would die in the future, Draco. We have to find Ellen. We have only that choice, and then we have to go back at precisely the right time."

Draco felt like Don had punched him in the gut. "Again I reiterate, these are important things you probably should have told me in the beginning, Don." He turned around and walked out.

He skipped his next class and went outside. He walked to the outskirts of the forest, debating on whether or not to enter. He didn't really want to go in the forest, but he could be alone in there, to think, to wallow, to cry, to escape. He was about to walk through the tall ancient trees when he heard her call his name.

"Malfoy?"

He hadn't talk to her in weeks. Not since the incident in the classroom with Seamus. He saw her in class and in the hallways. She was absolutely never without another Gryffindor, so he did his job. He made everyone believe he wanted to hurt her, so at least she was now protected. And as far as he knew, there were no more accidents or attempts on her life. Yet as he turned to face her, he noticed that she most certainly was alone, save for him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I only have a few moments. Harry and Ron think I'm in the Library. They will be back for me in a half an hour. I really need to talk with you," she said, holding her sweater tight around her. She didn't even have a coat on, and it was very cold. He started to take off his coat, to hand to her, but then thought better.

"You shouldn't be alone," he said. "Go back inside. We have no reason to talk."

"We do," she said. "Harry said he overheard you tell Blaise that you wanted me dead. That you were given a task to kill me, but I don't believe that. Please, tell me that's not true."

"If it was, you would be dead," Draco said. He just realized that Scarhead must have been listening outside the Room of Requirement the night of his emotional breakdown. Under his stupid invisibility cloak, no doubt. He really did abuse that thing, didn't he? Draco said, "Whatever Potter overheard, he misconstrued everything. Now run along, little one." He had no more fight in him, so he couldn't even show her anger. Not anymore, not now, maybe not ever again.

"Draco," she said.

"Please don't call me that," he said.

She stepped forward. She looked around and then took another step forward. He didn't back away. They were within arm's reach. The tension, be it sexual or other, was so flagrant between them, that Draco could taste and even smell it. She reached for him, thought against it, and then her arm went back around her body. He reached for her, and then did the same.

He wanted to kiss her. Instead, he turned and ran toward the forest, part of him wanting her to follow.

**Halloween Feast:**

During the feast for All Hallow's Eve, Hermione didn't even look toward Draco's table. However, she did see Lavender practically sitting on Ron's lap. She saw them kiss. Moreover, for some reason, it no longer upset her. She wanted to look at Draco, but she couldn't risk it. Harry was watching her too closely.

She stood to leave. Harry stood as well. She smiled and said, "Stay and enjoy the feast. Draco's right over there. You can tell if he follows me. I'll be fine. I want to go up to the common room." She made a conscious glance toward Lavender and Ron, as they giggled and held hands. Let Harry assume she was leaving because of them, not because Draco Malfoy wouldn't even look at her.

Harry smiled and nodded. She left the Great Hall, but instead of going up to their tower, she went out the front doors. It was so cold her teeth immediately chattered. She thought about turning back, to retrieve her coat, when she saw Cormac walk over to her.

"Hello, Hermione," he said.

"Hi."

"Do you want my jacket?" he asked, already taking off his coat and handing it to her. She smiled and accepted it. "I thought you told Harry you were going back to the common room."

"Yes, well, I needed some air," she said.

"Lavender and Ron are a bit sickening," Cormac said with a laugh. Hermione had never really had a conversation with him before, but he seemed nice enough. He began to drone on and on about Quidditch, and things that Harry was doing wrong with the team. Frankly, Hermione was somewhat happy for the boring tedium of his conversation. She found she could tune him out easily, which left her alone to think. To think about Draco Malfoy.

Draco watched Hermione leave her table, and then he saw Harry look directly toward him. Draco gave him a rude hand gesture. Harry suddenly took out his wand and pointed it at Draco, and then placed it back in his robe. 'Yes, yes, Potter,' Draco thought. 'I read you silent intent to warn me off Hermione quite well.'

He wanted to follow her, but he knew Potter would then follow him, so he stayed put. His mind wandered back to the Halloween dance they chaperoned with Terry and Padma Patil the year they came back to Hogwarts to finish their education.

That was the first time he really kissed Hermione.

_Flashback to Familiar Place I:_

_The dance lasted until after midnight. As chaperons, they were obliged to stay until the end. The Head boy and Head girl came up and thanked the upperclassmen for their help, as did the Headmistress. Hermione and Draco, hands intertwined, started walking up to their dorm, behind Padma and Terry, who were also holding hands. Draco leaned down and said to Hermione, "I didn't know they were a couple."_

_Hermione looked up at him, raised her eyebrows and said, "I don't know it they knew they were a couple, at least not until tonight. I think it's sweet. They make a very nice couple."_

"_Do we make a very nice couple?" he asked her, with his arm now around her shoulder._

"_No, we make a very strange couple, but who cares?" she grinned. He looked around; saw not one soul, so he pushed her down a dark, empty corridor._

"_What's the meaning of this, Malfoy? I meant strange in the nicest sense of the word," she laughed._

"_I want my goodnight kiss, and I think I should get it now. I don't want to take the chance of trying to kiss you in front of your door, and having Potter come out and hex my arse," he said, wiggling his eyebrows._

_She shook her head and said, "Honestly," but before she could say anything else, he put his hands on her cheeks, bent his head, and touched his lips to hers. He kissed her slowly. He wanted this to be meaningful. He moved his lips slightly, testing the waters, trying to see what she wanted, what she expected. He moved his hands from her face, to around her waist. Her hands went from his forearms, up to his shoulders._

_She moved her lips with his. The kiss was a sweet, somewhat wet, passionate kiss, which held promise and answered more than one question in her mind. She knew she could trust Draco. He wasn't trying to take advantage. He wasn't moving too quickly. He was letting her set the pace, and that meant more to her than he could ever know. She turned her head the other direction, and increased the pressure slightly. He understood._

_He kept his left arm around her waist, and the right hand came up to her neck. He put his fingers flat against her neck, moving them slightly back and forth. He moved his mouth, so that he could gently open hers. She opened her mouth and he deepened the kiss even more. After an eternity, or a nanosecond, Draco wasn't sure which, since time had stopped, she pulled away. It was probably just as well; because he wasn't sure that he had the resolve to stop the kiss. He would have kept going, and going, and who knew if he could have stopped on his own. She put her head on his chest. She could feel his heart rapidly beating._

_He pulled her into a tight embrace and said, "That was nice, wasn't it?"_

_She couldn't look at him, not yet, but she said, "I thought so."_

"_Shall we get you upstairs?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, and putting his hand under her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his._

"_Draco, this was a lovely evening. We will have to do it again sometime," she said, bashfully._

_He took her hand and led her out of the dark corridor where they just had just had their rendezvous, and said, "Well, that's a given, Granger."_

That was one of their first kisses, and Draco wanted to kiss her again. He wanted it so badly. He looked up and saw that Potter was no longer watching him. He was engrossed in some story. Draco stood up quickly and went to find Hermione. He wanted another goodnight kiss, and he was tired of denying it. He wanted her and he would have her.

He reached the hallway outside the Great Hall just as Cormac was walking out of the doors. He remembered that prat. That was the prat that she took to Slughorn's Christmas party this year, and the same prat who tried to get fresh with her. He stormed over to them, and even though they were doing nothing more than talking, he turned the man around and swung his fist, taking out all his frustration on the other man, no the other boy, and with one swing Cormac fell down in a heap at their feet.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley ran out at that exact moment, and drew their wands. Draco turned and drew his. Hermione, in the confusion, bent down to check on Cormac, and Severus Snape, robes billowing out behind him, ran out, with McGonagall behind him.

"Put your wands away! All of you!" Snape said.

No one did. Professor McGonagall said, "Fifty points from the next student who does not put away their wand!"

Harry and Ron slowly pocketed their wand. Cormac, with the help of Hermione, stood up and Draco kept his wand at the ready. Professor Snape said, "Detention, all five of you, tomorrow. Meet me right here, 8 am sharp." He walked up to Draco, took his wand from his hand, and with Draco's wand still firmly in his grasp, walked back in the school.

Draco stood in the courtyard, watching as Harry took Hermione's arm and ushered her toward the school. Ron and Cormac were close behind. Professor McGonagall, whom Draco had never liked, said, "You would do well to follow, Mr. Malfoy, and get some sleep. I don't know what Professor Snape has in store for you tomorrow, but I'm sure it won't be pleasant."

She motioned toward the door with her hand. All Draco could think was, well hell, none of this had yet to be pleasant, so why should detention with Snape be any different?


	12. Part XII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XII:**

**Detention, what joy**

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Cormac had all gathered outside and were waiting for Draco and Snape to arrive that morning, so they could start their detention. Snape had already told Draco his true intent for the detention. He wanted Draco to have some time alone with Hermione. He said that he and Don and spoken about it, and they figured it was what they both needed. If they continued as they were, they would both become reckless, and perhaps Ellen would find out that Draco was not who he claimed to be.

Therefore, Don and Snape had decided that Draco needed to tell Hermione the truth. The whole truth. If Rowena Ravenclaw's theories about the blue moon were correct, then after Draco and Don went back, Hermione of this time wouldn't remember anything that happened anyway. It seemed to be the only way.

Snape and Draco were walking toward the others when Snape said, "Make her take a solemn vow not to tell anyone. Don't reveal anything that will compromise Mr. Potter. We don't want Potter to find out, because that means the Dark Lord might find out. Tell her just enough so that when you are near others, you both can act accordingly. I will make certain that you two spend your detention together.

They approached the others and Snape said, "Very well. I've decided since Mr. McLaggen's only offense last night was to meet Mr. Malfoy's fist, he is excused from detention."

"Brilliant," Cormac said. He said, "Rotten luck to the rest of you, though."

"Go now, or I may change my mind," Snape shouted.

The boy ran back to the doors of the Castle. The rest of the motley crew stood around the courtyard and Snape said, "Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley will go to the Black Lake. They will find the plants I have listed here, for Professor Sprout. They will not come back until they find each and every one of them." He handed Ron a piece of parchment. Harry was slightly concerned. If he teamed Ron and him together, did that mean he would team up Hermione and Draco?

Snape said, "Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy shall go into the Forbidden Forest and collect this list of ingredients for Professor Boot's classes."

Harry spoke up. "I'm top in Potions. Hermione is second. Perhaps she and I should do that task."

"Believe it or not, Potter," Snape sneered, "I'm the one making the decisions here, not you."

"But," Harry began, only to be cut off when Snape said, "And furthermore, you aren't fooling anyone. When I was Potion Master, you barely squeaked by my classes, and if it weren't for Miss Granger, both you and Mr. Weasley would have failed long ago. I've decided that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger will go in the forest."

"I need to speak to Dumbledore," Harry abruptly said.

"Good luck finding him. He's been away all week. Now, go on and do your task, and don't return to the castle, any of you, until you find every item on your list." Snape handed Draco the second piece of parchment.

No one moved. Finally, Hermione started toward the forest. She looked back once and said, "Come on, Malfoy." She saw Harry and Ron's concern and she said, "I'll be fine." She knew she would. She liked how this had played out. It was perfect. She needed to speak with Malfoy anyway. She wanted to know what he meant when he told her that he was trying to protect her.

Snape stayed in the courtyard until all four were out of sight. Once at the edge of the forest, Hermione said, "May I see the list?"

Draco unfolded the piece of parchment and all it said was, "_Take your time. Explain everything to her. Make up items to find to bide your time. You're a Potion Master now, so you should be able to think of things. Come back after you've made her vow not to tell a soul. Don't tell her that she won't remember any of this after we return to our time. Just tell her what you need to tell her so she will no longer be in danger. Remember, I do love you both. Don."_

"I think I'll keep the list," Draco said, folding it and putting it in his pocket.

"Well, do you want to share?" she asked.

He stopped and looked at her. "I want to share with you very much," he said. There was never a truer statement uttered.

"Then what's on the list?" she asked.

"Just come on, and keep up," Draco said, walking past her. They walked for many long moments and finally Draco found some Ossian moss. He pointed toward the brown moss and said, "That's on the list."

Hermione bent down and said, "How much?"

"Who cares," Draco said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and took out her wand. She procured a nice size piece and placed it in the pocket of her robe. She said, "It is helpful with rashes and things."

"Great," Draco said. He was brooding, because he didn't know how to proceed. They found five other 'fake' ingredients, and after an hour of aimless walking, Draco finally felt the courage to tell her the truth, or at least part of it.

He said, "Can we rest?"

"Perhaps we should finish so we can get back before lunch. How many more items do we have to find?" she asked.

"A lot," he said.

"Let me see the list, please," she said, holding out her hand. Her nose was red from the cold, as were her cheeks. It was a beautifully day, with a bright sun and blue sky, but through the trees of the forest, the sun wasn't able to do its job, because it was biting cold. She had on her school robes, and cape, and her scarf, and yet she still seemed miserably cold. She looked so pretty with a red nose. He held out the list and started to hand it to her, as a joke, and then he held it up high above her head.

"No, I don't think so." He laughed.

"You know, you did the same thing to my wand that day. You held it over your head out of my reach. I already know you're tall." She stood with her arms crossed, one foot tapping on the ground.

He smiled and said, "Do you like tall men, Granger? After all, opposites do attract."

"I'm not that small."

"Yes, you are," he said. "And by denying your stature, and ignoring my question as to whether or not you like tall men, you are agreeing that you find me attractive."

"No," she said. She looked away. "That's convoluted logic, Malfoy."

He smiled. He folded the parchment and started to put it in his pocket, but she lurched forward and grabbed it. "HEY!" he said.

She ran away from him and started to open the piece of parchment. He reached her in time and tackled her. He swung her around, his arms around her waist, and pulled her to the ground, right on top of him. They both laughed, but then, with her weight on top of him, and their bodies pressed together, even under layers of clothing; they both stopped laughing and looked in each other's eyes.

She was taking deep breaths and so was he. Her hands were on his chest. His were tight around her middle. She still had the paper, balled up, in her hand. He had an idea. He said, "Read the list, Granger. Read what Professor Boot wanted us to find."

**What's so Funny?**

She rolled off him and sat down beside his body. He tensed, from her closeness, and from the uncertainty of how she would react to the note, and what he would tell her. He sat up as well.

She read the note and looked at him. She was frowning. She said, "What's going on here, Malfoy? Who's Don?"

"Don Boot. Professor Boot."

She stood up. He stayed on the ground. He picked up a twig and twirled it in his hand as she read the note once more. To his surprise, she sat down next to him and said, "Start from the beginning."

He thought she was overly calm at first. As he began to weave the tale to her, their tale, she became agitated. The story of their future was sure to seem incredulous to the present Hermione, but as he finished glossing over the more important parts of the past five years, she did something he never thought in a million years would happen.

She laughed.

She laughed and couldn't seem to stop. He wondered if she was suffering from hysteria, brought on by posttraumatic stress, or disbelief, or if she had just suddenly gone insane.

Whatever the reason, her laughter, instead of being contagious, made him angry.

Then, to add insult to injury, she did something even more shocking. As she sat on the cold ground beside him, laughter finally gone, along with the morning, she pushed him, hard. He fell backwards.

"You are such a liar!" she said. She stood up and began to run away from him.

He stood up and followed.

He called her name. She ran as fast as she could. He knew his wife well enough to know the real reason for her sudden departure. She believed him. Her knee jerk reaction to run away was attributed to that fact.

She looked back once, said, "Stop following me!" and then she turned back toward the path and right before his eyes, she disappeared.

He gasped, drew his wand, and yelled her name.

She looked back once, said, "Stop following me!" and then she turned back toward the path and ran right into a tree. Before she could register the pain in her head and her left arm, which were the result of running into a tree, she realized she was no longer on the path. She blinked several times. Where was she? She was running away from Draco, after his outrageous tale of Eighth year students, falling in love, the founders of Hogwarts, and time travel, and then, nothing. She was in a dark unknown place, seemingly free from the confines of the forest, and most certainly alone.

She reached out blindly with one hand and in her robe for her wand with the other. One hand encountered a smooth surface. The other encountered nothing. She was alone, afraid, and wandless. Her forehead hurt from running headlong into a tree, and she felt a trickle of warm blood travel down her forehead to her eye. Her left arm hurt. What was more, she believed Draco Malfoy, and now she might never get to tell him that.

Draco ran to the spot from where she disappeared and called her name. There was nothing there but a large tree. He spun around in circles, still calling her name. He stomped his foot, like a five year old child who was outraged at not getting his way, and then with his hands in fist at his sides, he yelled. "HERMIONE!"

She heard Draco scream her name. Should she call back to him? In that moment of indecision, she had an epiphany. And that was that she believed him. Moreover, she loved him. In the here and now, she loved him, and that one single thought was what made her believe his completely, incredible story emphatically, with no question.

Yes, the Draco she had always known was often cruel, certainly portentous and vain, but that didn't mean that was all there was to him. He had to have more to him, because she knew she was a smart, levelheaded woman, who made good decisions, and if she was in love with him in the future, then he must have some redeeming qualities. She decided to give in to his story, believe him without qualms, because he must be telling the truth. If he was telling the truth, then she might be in danger, and she might need a helping hand. If he was telling the truth, then they were married. If he was telling the truth, then he would leave her at the end of this year, and she wouldn't remember any of it.

She yelled back.

Draco heard her yell back to him. She yelled his name. The sound of her calling for him both unnerved him and made him feel elated. She believed him.

That didn't mean he could find her.

He continued to shout for her, and she continued to answer, but he was no closer to finding her. If he swayed from the path, her voice sounded farther away. When he walked closer, she sounded closer. He got down on his hands and knees and pressed his face to the ground, which looked like an ordinary ground, undisturbed except for the fact that Draco was lying on it.

Hermione was doing the same, in her hiding place. She still didn't know where she was, she was still literally in the dark, but she had free reign to move about, so she moved and continued to call for him. DRACO! DRACO! She was no closer to escaping the dark abyss of her literal prison, so finally she sat down and decided to let the dark envelope her, until she either escaped, was rescued, of heaven forbid, ceased to exist.

Draco finally decided to go find Don. He was about to leave when he was drawn to the tall tree that stood in front of him on the path. The trunk was larger around than most of the trees in the forest. Something drew him to this tree, and he walked up to it and placed his hand on the rough bark. He sighed and said, "Hermione."

She heard his voice as if it was next to her.

In a normal voice, at a normal level, she said, "Can you hear me?"

"Hermione?" he asked, surprised. "Where are you?"

"Well I hardly know that, do I?" she said back.

"I think I know where you are, but you would never believe me," he said.

"Where am I?"

"I think, somehow, you are in a tree," he said.

**How could she be in a tree?**

"I know I'm not in a tree, Draco Malfoy," she said. "There are no limbs, leaves, or anything. I'm somewhere dark and confined.

"I know," he said back. He had both hands on the tree, as if he was embracing her and he elaborated. "I don't mean that you are up in a tree. Somehow, I think you are inside the tree."

"I did hit a tree before I disappeared," she said.

He started to walk around the tree, touching it the entire way. He said, "Can you tell how big the space you're in is?"

"No."

"Light your wand," he said, still circling the tree. His foot encountered something. He bent down, picked up her wand, and said, "Oh."

"I don't have my wand," she said.

"I know. I just found it." He put her wand in his pocket. He said, "I need to go get help."

"Don't leave me," she said. "We can figure this out."

"I'm not bloody Harry Potter. I don't know how to get out of tight spots," he said desperately.

"Well, I am Hermione Granger, and I do," she said.

They worked together for perhaps another hour. It was now long past noon. Draco was hungry, and he knew she must be as well. He decided to send his patronus to Don. He would risk someone seeing it, if it meant help for Hermione. He told her he was about to do that when she said, "What if that Ellen woman sees it?"

"I don't think she knows my patronus," he said.

"We can't risk it. Besides, did the Draco of this time already know how to conjure a patronus?" she asked.

The truth was that no, he didn't, so Draco wouldn't risk it. "Fine, I won't send one."

She sat down, succumbing to the desperation she felt. They were wasting time, him on the outside of a tree, and she, however it was possible, on the inside. They didn't have much time together, and she had so many questions she wanted to ask him.

"May I ask you a question?" she asked. He sat next to the tree, his back against it.

"Anything," he said.

"Do we have children?" she asked.

He had smoothed over the story so quickly, that he hadn't told her that. He looked down at the ground, picked up a stick as he did earlier, and while twirling it in his fingers he said, "We are about to have our first. A girl, I guess."

"Wow," she said softly.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Is Harry married?" she asked.

He expected more personal questions about him and her. He said, "Old Scarhead married little red."

"Do you still hate him, in the future?" he asked.

He really had to think about that one. "I don't hate him, but I wouldn't say we are friends. We tolerate each other."

"Is Ron married?" she asked.

Draco chuckled, and decided to have some fun. "No, he's gay."

"WHAT?" she said with a voice so shrill it was as if she yelled in his ear.

"I'm joking! No, he's not married."

"Oh, good. I mean, I don't mind either way, but I hate to think I wasted all my time all those years on a gay man." She sighed and then smiled. "You have a good sense of humor after all, don't you?"

"Some say, some say," he answered. "And to clarify, you did waste all your time all those years, on a stupid man, because after it was all said and done, you ended up with me."

"When did we first kiss?" she asked.

"That's a debate," he said. "I tried to kiss you the first time by the Black Lake, but Neville Longbottom thought I was accosting you and came to your rescue."

She laughed. He continued with, "Then I kissed you up in your room, while it was raining outside, after Michael Corner called you a Mudblood. Then I kissed you, a real kiss, and a passionate, long kiss, after a dance on Halloween night."

"When did we first make love?" she asked.

He smiled again. He expected questions like, "When did Harry succeed in vanquishing the Dark Lord," and such. She was asking personal questions, just about them. He liked that. He said, "On Christmas, when we came back for our eighth year."

She was quiet for so long that he said, "Hermione?"

"I'm still here." She was quiet a long time again and said, "So, do we have sex a lot?"

He laughed aloud and rolled on the ground. "We are expecting our first child, so you figure it out."

"Oh, yeah," she said, with a smile. Then, she stopped smiling and asked, "What did Professor Boot mean in his note when he wrote that I would forget everything? Does that mean that when you go back, I won't remember this conversation?"

Draco stopped smiling also, but he stopped smiling because he saw what looked like a large animal perusing between the trees. He stood up and with wand in hand, he said, "Hermione, don't say a word for a moment."

She stood up again when she realized that his voice was laced with fear. Safe inside her dark cocoon she said, "What's wrong?"

He answered, "We aren't alone."

_A/N: Dum, dum, dum. Cliffhangers...oh how I have missed you._


	13. Part XIII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XIII:**

**Present Day:**

Hermione walked around the house aimlessly. It was what she did best nowadays. She always had someone with her, because apparently everyone felt she was in danger in this time as well. Though someone else was always around, she still felt very much alone. She was at the point where she could no longer go up to see Draco's empty body. It hurt too much to know that he was here in the house, but not really home.

Such was her world now. She woke up. She took a shower. She dressed. She ate breakfast. She read. She wrote in her journal to Draco. She took a walk. She ate lunch. She took a nap. She read. She sat outside, even though it was now cold, she cried, she ate dinner, she walked aimlessly around the house, she had some tea and toast, and then she went to bed, where she would cry until she went to sleep.

Everyday, it was the same, with only slight variations. She did everything in the same order, adding things occasionally. Some days she didn't cry. Some days it rained, so she skipped the outside part. Sometimes someone would visit before her afternoon nap. Her mother would take her shopping after lunch. Harry would visit before she wrote in her journal. She would knit before tea and toast. Other people varied their routines, which varied hers to a degree, but for the most part, everyday was the same.

She felt she was going insane.

She went to make her tea and toast, after all, she had just finished the part of the day where she walked around the house aimlessly, so it was that time of the evening. Nick Boot came down the back staircase from visiting his brother. He saw her at the stove. He walked over to the kettle, because it was whistling, and though she stood right in front of it, she didn't seem to hear it.

He turned off the gas, poured the hot water into her cup, poured some for himself, and sat the teacups on the table. He reached for her shoulders and turned her around. He aimed her toward the table. When it was apparent that she wasn't about to walk of her own accord, he pushed her to the table. He sat her down, and pushed her tea toward her.

"It's my night to stay with you," he said.

She nodded.

"My girlfriend is becoming pretty tired of this," he said. He wanted Hermione to become angry. The Hermione he knew would say something to the affect of, 'Well, isn't that a shame. What a hardship for you'. This Hermione said nothing.

"I got a good reading from Don tonight," he said. "I think they are having some progress."

She stirred her tea, though it didn't need stirring.

"I felt that Don was trying to tell me that Draco was doing better. He seems less depressed to Don."

She tapped her spoon on the edge of her cup.

"I got a strong feeling that Draco and you were becoming close in that time. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but it has to make it better for Draco. He has to feel less lonely."

She threw her spoon across the room, picked up her cup and threw it as well, where it hit a wall and shattered. She stood up and said, "Well how wonderful! Draco's no longer lonely! He has 17-year-old Hermione to keep him company! Maybe he will prefer her to me and never come back!"

Nick looked shocked at her outburst, and then he started to laugh. She picked up his cup and threw it, too. He laughed harder. She walked up to him and slapped his face. She drew her hand back to slap him again, but this time, he stopped her, and for some inane reason, he was still smiling.

"STOP SMILING!" she said.

He laughed again, still holding her wrist, and he said, "You're jealous of yourself. I'm sorry, but that really struck me as funny."

Hermione started to laugh. She laughed, and then she started to cry, then Nick stood up, pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. At least it was a break in her routine. Tears usually only came after she was in bed.

He took her to the living room and pulled her down to the couch. He said, "I definitely feel that Ellen is aware that Don and Draco are from the future. I relayed this to Don this evening. I also feel strongly that she is working with someone, although I don't know whom. Don already suspects as much, I think."

He continued, "I wonder sometimes why she hasn't tried to contact our mother in the past. That has me very curious. All she would really have to do is contact our mother, tell her the whole story, and our mother would then try to kill the you of the past, and Ellen wouldn't have to soil her hands. But every fiber of my being tells me that she hasn't done that, even though that would be the smart thing to do."

"What do you think that means?" Hermione asked.

"I think it means Draco and Don might be on a wild goose chase. I think that her intent may not have been to harm you, but to draw them to the past, and I'm not sure why," he said.

"Have you told this to anyone?" Hermione asked fearfully. "Your father, Paul, or Harry?"

"I told Harry, but no one else, and I don't want you tell anyone yet. Let me get a clearer picture on things first. I'm going to try to do a reading over Ellen's body, but I don't want anyone to know about it yet," he said.

"Why would she want to draw them to the past? How would she even know that Draco would be the one to go with Don?" she asked.

"I don't know, really, I don't." He pulled on her arm and pulled her over to him. She cuddled into the crook of his arm and he stroked her hair.

"Is your girlfriend really upset with you?" Hermione asked.

"She has to go through a lot, you know. It's asking a lot from her to put up with all of this protecting the heirs business. Not many women would be up for it. Remember, we broke up years ago because of the same thing. Not many women could share a wonderful man like me," Nick said with a smirk.

"You are a wonderful man," she said. "I've always thought so. Remember when you were wolves, five years ago, and you used to protect us? You and I always had a special connection. I wonder why that was."

"I don't know," he said, even though he felt certain he did know the reason.

"You know, it is probably hard on your fiancée. She had to endure a lot a few years ago, when we were having all that trouble with your mother and the founders. You were set to marry her that year, and you had to postpone it. You've kind of been stringing her along for a long time. I bet she hates me, doesn't she?"

"She doesn't hate you. She might hate me," he said with a chuckle. "I told her that I thought we should part for a while. Think about things. I'm not sure I'm ready to marry, and it has nothing to do with the pact we made with Terry all those years ago to protect you and Draco. It has nothing to do with our destines as Ravenclaw's heirs to protect the heirs of Slytherin and Hufflepuff. It's a person decision."

"How did you know I was going to ask you if it had to do with those very things?" she asked, and then she laughed. "Oh yeah, you are a bit psychic, or so I've heard."

"I also know that you like to play the martyr," he said. "You would just assume it had to do with you."

She frowned and slapped his shoulder. "I don't do that, do I?"

"Oh please," he said laughing.

**Everyone loves Hermione Granger at one point in time:**

Harry Potter stood in the doorway and said, "I'm here as requested."

Hermione looked from Harry to Nick. "I thought Nick was staying tonight."

"I asked Harry to stay. I want to go to Ellen's body tonight. Do you mind?" Nick asked.

"Of course not. Harry just snores really loud, and even though he sleeps in the room down the hall, I hear him," Hermione said. Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione stood up and said, "I better go clean up the mess I made in the kitchen. Goodnight, Nick. Do you want some tea, Harry?"

"No thank you. It might make me snore louder," he said sarcastically.

"I think that's impossible," she laughed as she scrambled off to the kitchen.

Nick stood from the couch and said, "She had a little outburst earlier, and threw our teacups." Harry gave him a funny look. Nick said, "That is what you were going to ask, isn't it?"

"Yes, but damn, Nick, I wish you would let me ask things before you answer me. It's unnerving. Turn your psychic ability down a notch or two once in a while," Harry harped. Nick laughed and walked toward the front door.

Harry followed. Nick said, "I'm not sure I should continue to stay nights with her."

"I was standing in the hall. I heard you and Hermione talking about your fiancée and you. If it's causing trouble, we will make other arrangements."

"That's not the whole reason," Nick said, walking out on the porch. "Harry, to be truthful, I'm not certain I can detach myself when I'm around her any longer. Her pain is almost too much for me to bear. I know it is for everyone, but I feel it more acutely, and it's causing me to lose focus."

"I understand," Harry said.

"There's something else," Nick said.

"What?"

"Well, I think I may be falling in love with her," Nick said softly. "I feel awful just admitting that out loud. I would never act on it, but I don't want to betray my fiancée, or Draco, or hurt Hermione. I don't want to lose any of them, and I'm afraid I might act on my feelings."

Harry actually laughed. Nick raised one eyebrow and said, "My pain if funny to you?"

"Oh, Nick, it's not that, but you will soon come to find out what we have all found; all of us have found ourselves just a little bit in love with Hermione Granger from time to time. I almost think it's natural and expected."

Nick pointed to Harry and said, "You too?"

"Of course, and we know Ron loved her. Even Don once admitted to me that he loved her once. George Weasley told me he once thought he loved her a little bit. We all know that Paul is still in love with her. You see, you are just one of us now. I thought you would have already known that, with you being psychic and all." Harry patted his shoulder and added, "Let me know what you find out. If the threat is more to Draco and Don, then we need to find a way to bring them home, Blue Moon theory be damned. If the reason was to get them out of the way, to harm the Hermione of today, we need to know that, too."

"I'll try to find out," Nick said.

Hermione walked to the door, raised her hand, and said, "Goodnight again, Nick. Take care and good luck tonight. I love you."

He smiled and said, "Goodnight, Hermione. I love you, too." His smile remained as he lowered his head, and walked down the sidewalk, and out to the garden to disapparate away.

Harry smiled as well. Hermione looked at Harry and said, "What's that stupid smile about, Mr. Potter?"

"Nothing, Hermione. I love you too, that's all." He closed the front door, still smiling, and walked toward the living room, leaving a very bewildered Hermione alone in the foyer, wondering what she had said that was so funny.

**An Animal is just an Animal, right?**

"We aren't alone, Hermione," Draco said from the outside of the tree. A large black animal crossed from one tree to another. It was still far enough away that Draco wasn't sure what type of animal it was, but here in the Forbidden forest, where people could get stuck in trees, and there were spiders the size of men, and unicorns, and all sorts of other magical creatures and objects, nothing would surprise Draco. He continued to watch the large animal, and finally decided it was a cat. A large cat. A panther to be precise.

"What type of animal is it?" Hermione finally asked as if on cue, from her spot nestled inside of the tree.

"A hungry looking one," Draco remarked. "Seriously, it looks like a black panther."

"That's silly," Hermione said. "There are no panthers in Great Britain. Panthers, also known as cougars in the United States, and jaguars in Latin America, and sometimes leopards, are usually found in Asia, Java, some parts of Africa, but mostly in the Southwestern United States and parts of the Americas. Now, sometimes, people mistake Bobcats for Panthers…"

Draco cut her off by saying, "Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Now is not the time to show off your brain power. If you could see me right now, you would see me giving you a disparaging look," he said. "So while I thank you for being a walking encyclopedia, I do wish you would shut up." He looked back from the tree to the large cat, which was not too close yet, but too close for Draco's comfort.

"Excuse me for being smart," she said. "What I was trying to say was, if it truly looks like a panther, then perhaps it is a wizard or witch in animagus form."

She was right! It was the same thing she told him once when the Boot brothers guarded them, before they knew they were men, and they were in their animagus form. Hermione pointed out that there were no wolves in Great Britain, so perhaps their wolves were no ordinary wolves. This meant that this was probably no ordinary panther.

He said, "By golly, Granger, I think you've got it."

The large black cat, with golden eyes, jumped up on a fallen tree and was now staring intently at Draco. It was not only large and menacing, but it seriously seemed to be stalking him.

"Draco?" Hermione said. "I'm kind of in the dark here. I can't tell what's going on, and you haven't said anything for a while."

"Oh don't worry, little one," he said. "Soon you will hear me scream I am sure, when it eats me."

"Draco," she said again. "Get into the tree."

"Cat's can climb trees, or didn't you ever read that little fact?" Draco said. His back was pressed against the tree.

"NO!" she said. "Get inside with me."

"Point me toward the door and I would. OH, that's right, we can't even get you out, so how are we going to get me inside?" he asked. He was beyond exasperated. He was scared and totally pissed off. He finally had Hermione believing him, and now he was about to become a kitty snack.

"Run toward the tree, like I did, and smack you head on it hard and maybe you will join me inside."

He looked at the tree and said, "The look of disdain I gave you earlier is nothing compared to the look I am giving you now. Not only would I be a kitty snack, but I would be one with a concussion."

"Maybe not," she said. "You won't be able to outrun it, or fight it, even with magic. If you come in here at least I will have my wand, and perhaps we can get out together. If not, at least we will be together. Do it for me. It's worth a try."

He wasn't sure he had time to find out either way. The cat sprang from its perch on the fallen tree and Draco ran around the side of the tree where Hermione was, just as a large grey wolf came out of nowhere and tackled the cat. The panther was larger than the wolf, and Draco was certain the wolf had to be Don Boot, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He took several strides away from the tree and ran quickly toward it. He hit the damn tree hard, and it hurt like hell, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground, in total darkness, with someone, hopefully Hermione, underneath him.

He rolled off her as she cried out. He quickly lit his wand and shined it on her face. He said, "Sorry."

"Some warning next time might be nice," she said from beside him on the ground.

"Next time I decide to deposit myself inside a tree, I'll give you notice," he said. She looked upset, so he put his hand on her face, and said, "Sorry, little one. Are you hurt very badly?"

She shook her head no. "Did you hurt yourself?" she asked, sitting up. He looked at the large contusion and laceration on her forehead, with dried blood all over her face, and he saw that she was holding her arm left arm with her right one.

"Not as badly as you, apparently."

"Well, it was nice of you to drop by, anyway," she said and then she laughed.

"I've told you this a million times, though, you won't recall, since it hasn't really happened yet, but I feel sorry for you that you have no sense of humour." He stood up and said, "And thanks for emotionally blackmailing me back there, with all that, at least we will be together rubbish. I hate when you do that."

He handed her wand to her and she stood up and lit it as well. "When have I ever emotionally blackmailed you?"

"Not you, but you," he said. He rolled his eyes. "The Hermione of the future does it all the time, but never mind that right now." He looked around and said, "It's a lot larger in here than it appears outside. Have you gone exploring yet?"

"I've been talking with you the whole time, and I was wandless, remember?"

He turned to her and shined his wand in her face again. He smiled and placed his hand again on her cheek. He said, "Do you want me to heal your forehead. I can, you know."

"No need."

"Your arm?"

"I'm fine, let's just try to get out of here," she said.

He nodded, and pointed his wand around the cavernous area, which surrounded them. Hermione began to feel around the walls, and finally she said, "There's a passageway, up here. I think we both will fit. We should see where it leads."

He agreed and walked over to it. He hoisted himself up and then reached down for her hand. She reached up with her good arm, but with her other armed injured, she had no way to make purchase, or distribute her weight, and she said, "I can't get up."

"Use your other arm."

"It hurts a bit," she said.

He jumped back down and said, "Let me see it."

"No, it's fine."

"How do you know? You've been in the dark. Let me see it, Hermione," he said. It was more of a command than a request. She knew he would only push her cloak off her and her sleeve up himself if she didn't do it, so she removed her cloak. She took off her sweater, with some difficulty. She unbuttoned the sleeve of her oxford, and started to push it up, but said, "It's my elbow and upper arm that hurts, and my sleeve doesn't go up enough."

"Take off your shirt," he said. He said it with a husky voice. She looked up in his eyes, and she licked her suddenly dry lips.

"But…" she protested.

"Hermione, take off your shirt."

* * *

_A/N: Another cliffhanger of a different variety. HA! Sorry this is a day late. I know I said I would update Mondays, Wednesday's and Fridays. I have been behind in my writing, because one of my brothers had a massive heart attack, and needs open heart surgery, and he's not even that old. Just in his 40's. I will still try to update three chapters this week if I can. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! _

_Also, thanks to my beta for this story, oliverwoodsgirl for the remark about how their house is not a home without Draco present. That is why I added that last line to the first paragraph. Thanks!_


	14. Part XIV

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XIV:**

**Take off your Shirt, Hermione –**

"Hermione, take off your shirt," Draco said. He was walking toward her, and in the confined space, he was upon her in two strides. He placed his hand on the collar of her white buttoned-up oxford and said, "I just want to make sure you are alright."

"I can't," she said. The light from his wand was shining in her eyes, and beyond that, he saw fear.

"I thought you believed me?" he said. "I won't hurt you. I've seen you nude before. I just want to see your arm. Please." He said it with such an easy, reassuring tone, that she was almost convinced. She lifted both hands to unbutton one button, then she faltered. She shook her head no.

"Please, let me see if you need healed."

She shook her head again, but said, "It is just my arm hurts to raise it this high. I don't think I can unbutton my shirt." That was just an excuse, though not really a lie.

He looked around the enclosed space, transfigured a jutted place on the surface of their prison wall into a type of sconce, and then he placed his wand inside it. He took her wand from her and did the same, on the wall opposite, so he had plenty of light, and so their arms were unencumbered.

He reached for her shoulders and his hands went lightly from her shoulders to the collar of her shirt, down to the placket where the shirt was buttoned up tight. He loosened the knot of her tie first. His eyes were on his toil and her eyes were on him. He removed her tie slowly, almost seductively. She felt a hitch to her breathing. He felt tightness in his chest and somewhere else. He looked up into her eyes. She still looked scared. He unbuttoned the button around the neck of her blouse.

"I promise I will only look at your arm," he said. Now blast it all, he would have to keep that promise, even though everything in his body, every fiber, nerve ending, and atom, told him to grab her into his arms and make love to her. He had never gone this long without making love to his wife.

Was she even his wife? Of course, she would be one day, but this girl, no, by law a woman, before him was not yet his Hermione. Would he be betraying his wedding vows, and indeed his own heart, if he made love to her?

He was still pondering these things as his fingertips went gently down to the second button. He said, "One more now." He unbuttoned it and then just his index finger on his right hand slid down to the next one. She took a deep breath and exhaled it at exactly the same time he did and they both laughed, nervously. After he unbuttoned the second one, he stood over her so tall that he could see the swell of her breast and he had only undone two buttons.

He said, "Now another." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to give a play-by-play of his actions, but it helped relay his nerves, although if made her more nervous. She just wished he would get it over with already. He unbuttoned the third, and this time, he could see the start of cleavage. His hands slid lower, and over the swell of her breasts and he thought, 'I'm going to die from want.'

He looked back toward her face, a fleeting look really, and she looked like she was in some type of haze. He said, "The fourth one," before he unbuttoned the fourth button. The thin material of her blouse parted, and even though he had seen his wife's breasts more times than he could count (and less times than he wanted), he was filled with an excitement with resembled the feeling he felt the first time he anticipated seeing her breasts.

After the fourth button he stopped for a moment and said, "One time, when we were still just dating, but had not yet made love, I gave you an anatomy lesson. It's a lovely memory. I wish you could remember it."

"I can't remember something that hasn't happened yet, at least not to me. Besides, didn't I already know anatomy?" she asked, sincerely.

He laughed and said, "I dare say you probably knew more than me. It wasn't really that type of anatomy lesson. It was my way of seducing you. I just remember feeling such an excitement and anticipation that day, and I feel it today."

She bunched her shirt together with her right hand, and he stepped away. "You said it was just to see my arm. We aren't having sex, Malfoy. I know what you told me sounds credible, and I believe you and all, but I will not have sex with you, especially inside a blasted tree."

He laughed at that and said, "You are such a prude, and no, that's not the first time I've called you that, and I am sure it's not going to be the last." He cocked his head to the side, swatted at her hand and said, "Let's just get this over with." He was moving slowly again, once more seductively, but she was right; he wouldn't take her virginity (again), in a tree of all places.

He unbuttoned the fifth button, and then the remaining two. Her shirt opened and he spied her write cotton bra, and so help him, he always loved her white cotton underwear. He said, "Cotton knickers, too, I presume?"

"MALFOY!" she spat.

"Sorry, it's just I always loved your white cotton underwear. I find it sexy, more than lacey, black, showy things. I do apologize, little one."

She pushed him away again, with her good hand, and said, "Why do you call me little one? When did that start?"

"I don't know if I remember. That's not good," he said, frowning.

"Maybe you're losing your memory in your old age," she said with a grin.

"Still not funny, Granger," he said. He started to put his hands on the openings of her blouse, when she hit him away again.

"Why do you call me Granger so often? I mean, I know that's how you've always referred to me, but surely after we married you stopped calling me that," she remarked.

"No, not really. You kept your stupid last name anyway, and just added mine to it, so you're still a Granger. I call you both. You once reminded me that I only call you Hermione when I'm angry with you or when we are making love," he said, raising one eyebrow.

"Can you stop talking about sex?" she asked.

"Can you?" he teased.

"I didn't bring it up!"

"You said, and I quote, 'Do we have sex a lot?' end quote," he remarked.

"Okay, that was like an hour ago, and that was a valid question," she said. Then, without hesitation, or help from him, she struggled out of her shirt, and then quickly placed it in front of her chest, holding it in place with her good arm, and holding out her sore arm to him.

He took his wand from its holder and placed it close to her arm, although he saw the bruising and the swelling immediately, even without the extra light. He winced for a moment, and then took the injured arm in both hands. The whole elbow was swollen, as was the lower arm. A large, purple, almost red bruise had already formed. He bent her arm slightly and said, "Does this hurt."

"Ouch!" she said. She dropped her shirt, hit him upside the head with the flat of her hand, and said, "Does that?"

He had to laugh again. God, it was good to be with his Hermione once more.

**Murder most foul:**

He took his wand, and without asking for permission, or telling her what he was about to do, he said a healing spell over the swollen area and then touched the tip of the wand to the bruise. He moved it back and forth again and said, "If it hurts this time, just say yes. Don't hit me again." He moved her arm back and forth again.

She smiled and said, "It feels much better, and the bruise isn't as bad. When did you get to know all these healing spells?"

"I've spent a lot of time in the hospital wing since I've met you, not to mention that I work at St. Mungos now. I work in the Potions Department. I'm the assistant director, but I sort of want to go on to be a Healer."

"Really? That's great, you should," she said.

"I haven't even you told you about that yet, I mean, my Hermione," he said, as he helped her into her shirt.

"Why? Do you think she won't be supportive?" she asked, and then she rolled her eyes and said, "Can we just refer to your Hermione as me, otherwise, it's sort of creepy."

"I know you'll be supportive," he answered, helping her with her sweater. He pulled it over her head and then smoothed down her hair. "It's just the last time I changed careers, it went badly, and you didn't understand. I was a teacher, along with you for a while, but after we married I wanted to change jobs, and you were a spoiled brat about it, and you left me for a while."

"I did?" She looked at him incredulously. "I'm sorry."

He was glossing over things again, but in a nutshell, that was how he remembered their brief separation after their marriage, when he changed jobs without telling her, and she thought that meant he wanted to leave her. "I'll tell you about my desire to become a Healer as soon as I get back, I promise."

She was donning her coat and she answered, "I wish I could tell you I will try to be understanding, but well, you know, I have no control over what I do and say in the future."

"True," he said, reaching for her wand and handing it to her. He walked back over to the opening of the passageway, and again hoisted himself up. He turned around while still on his knees, since the space was too small to stand, and reached for her hand. He pulled her up and once they were both in the passage he said, "Do you want to lead or follow."

"Lead," she said.

"I don't know why I asked," he said with a laugh. Of course, she wanted to lead. Hermione Granger never followed anyone. They started their exploration, the path going up, then down, becoming more narrow, and then wider, the whole time on their hands and knees. It was obvious that they had traveled a great distance, and Draco was beginning to think they were wasting their time, when suddenly she fell right in front of him and screamed.

He reached for her cape, and dropped his wand in the process. She tried to hold on to the sides of the opening, but it was of no avail. She was slipping. He reached for the coat under the cloak with his left hand, and then bunch as much of the cloak material into his right hand as he could, but still she was slipping.

He wouldn't lose her again. He was doing such a shoddy job of protecting her. She suddenly stopped struggling and she said, "Let me drop, Draco."

"NO!" he said. He wouldn't give up that easily, and he was surprised she would. Suddenly, she didn't seem as heavy. It was almost as if she was resting her feet on something.

He was about to ask her what was going on when he heard Don Boot's voice say, "I've got her feet Draco, let her go."

He couldn't see the man, but he heard him. He let her go and she dropped just a short distance into Don's waiting arms.

Draco peered down as Hermione pointed her wand around the room. She picked his wand up from the ground and threw it up to him. He went down the hole feet first, and landed beside them.

Don said, "I had hoped you would come along soon."

"Where are we?" Draco asked.

"Remember the Ravenclaw cave?" he asked.

"This is it?" he asked.

"Yes, the entrance to the tree is another way in. I saw you circling the outside of it, and then when I saw you by yourself I figured Hermione was already inside. I wasn't sure you would be able to enter, but I had to give you some time to try, so I kept the big cat busy and thankfully you figured out how to enter," Don said. He sat down on the ground, still breathless from the recent fight.

"What do you mean, figure out how to enter. I had to slam my bloody body into the stupid tree. Look at Hermione's head. She smashed her head and arm into it," Draco said. He sat down next to Don as Hermione wandered around the large cave where they were.

"Well, you could have just as easily touched the knot hole at the bottom, near the roots, but I guess your way worked, too," Don said. Suddenly, Don fell over.

"Hermione, come help me," Draco said frantically. Hermione hurried over to them. It was apparent that Don was hurt. Draco tried to remove his clothing and ascertain his injuries. He had what appeared to be slash marks from claws all over his body, as well as a large bite mark on his upper thigh, which was bleeding badly.

"Is it bad?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing vital seems to be touched. The bite on the leg is dangerously close to the artery, but I think he'll live," Draco said, as he began to heal the man.

"Draco," Don said, in a sleepy tone, "That cat wasn't a cat, you know."

"Ellen?" Draco asked.

"I'm positive, because after she wounded me, as a wolf, she circled me for a moment. She could have killed me. I'm surprised she didn't, because I'm not her brother. She's half-sister to my half-brothers, so I'm not her kin, but she spared me. She disappeared through the forest and then I swear I saw a Raven fly away."

"She's a double animagus, just like you and your brothers," Draco said. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Double animagus?" Hermione asked.

Don sat upright and said, "There's a secret society called The Brotherhood of the Raven, and all of its members can become Ravens. It's a necessity to join, however, my brothers and I are direct descendants of Ravenclaw herself, me from my father, my brothers from both parents, Ellen from Helena, and we all have the ability to become more than one animal."

"Ravens aren't really the mascot of Ravenclaw house. It's an eagle, you know, who has black claws, hence the name Raven-claw," explained Hermione.

Don and Draco both looked at her with mouths agape. Don then looked at Draco and said, "So she was always like this? Even when she was young."

"I told you," Draco said.

Hermione made a face at both men and mumbled something about how she should play dumb, but they didn't hear her. They were still talking about ravens, wolfs, panthers, Ellen and that woman named Helena, whom Draco told Hermione she killed.

She turned and said, "You said in your story that I killed her in a cave. Was it this cave?" she asked.

"No, and you killed her outside a cave, but not this one. It wasn't in the Forbidden Forest. It was just somewhere on the grounds," Draco said. "Why?"

She was just wondering about how many people she might have killed. The Hermione of Draco's time had already seen a war, and from his story, had killed at least two people, some Professor from their eighth year and this Helena Boot. She sat on the ground and said, "I don't like the thought that I've killed people. No wonder her daughter wants revenge. If someone killed me, don't you think my daughter, our daughter, in the future would want revenge?"

Don looked embarrassed. Draco looked at Don who looked away. This was Draco's dilemma, not Don's. Don said, "I'm going to get us some water, and then we can get out of here."

He went down another dark passage, and left Hermione and Draco alone in the small chamber of the large cave.

Draco walked toward her and said, "Let me explain.

**Evil is as Evil Does:**

Draco tried to tell her about how evil their Professor was, and how extremely evil Helena Boot was, and how she had no choice, it was kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest, good over evil, and yet she still seemed upset.

"Taking a life is wrong, Malfoy. You can make it sound all noble, but no matter what, it's wrong," she said.

"So if," he was careful not to say when, "Potter kills Voldemort, it will be an evil act, henceforth, wrong?"

"No," she said, "but these people weren't as bad as him!"

"Yes, they really were, because there are no levels of evil. Evil just is. Evil is as evil does. Some people aren't more evil than others are. All that is evil should be destroyed," he said. "And furthermore, I'm not having a discussion on ethics with you right now. There are certain things we will never agree upon, so we won't even discuss it."

"Oh yes we bloody well will!" she screeched. That surprised him. She said, "In my lifetime at least, your father is evil. Does he deserve to die?" As soon as she asked it, she was sorry. She knew from his story about their lives that his father was alive, but he looked as if she punched him in the gut. He grabbed her good arm, roughly.

"Let's go find, Don," he said. The topic of his father's past deed and what Draco had done this year, were the reasons he didn't want to have THIS discussion with her!

"Draco," she began.

"I will not have this debate with you! Especially not in this point and time! I know that you don't know this, but this was the worst year of my life. This year. Sixth year, and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do - coming back this year. Frankly, it was partially, if not totally, my father's fault that I was made to do the things I had to do this year, so right now I would agree with you and say yes, my father is an evil bastard who deserves to die, but Damn!" He stomped around her and said, "He's still my father, and he's changed, and I don't have to justify it to you!"

Don was standing at the mouth of a passageway; he walked over to Hermione, took her hand and said, "Come on." He looked back at Draco once, with a look of condemnation and concern, and perhaps a sprinkling of pity, and Draco couldn't stand that look from Don or anyone.

Don gave Hermione a canteen with water and pointed her toward the exit of the passage. He said, "Wait for me in the next chamber." He turned back toward Draco, and pushed him against the wall. He said, "No one forced you to come back this year, but damn it all, I won't have you taking out your anger on a young girl! And that's what she is, Malfoy! She's not your wife yet. She's a young girl, we've presented a lot to her, so let her take it all in and stop being a bully. It's not her fault you had to come back. Direct that anger at me if you want, or better yet, at trying to find Ellen."

"Yes, Sir," Draco said sarcastically. He pushed past Don and said, "Just because I have a bastard for a father doesn't mean I need another one, Don. I'm not a child, so please remember that."

"Well you're acting like the sixteen year old, Draco, not the grown man," Don spat back from behind him.

Draco reached the larger chamber first, turned around and said, "WHERE IS SHE NOW?"

Both men ran around the chamber and Don said, "Maybe she went through the next passage to the last chamber by the exit." They both ran down the long narrow corridor, to the largest chamber in the cave. She had been in this same chamber before, all those years ago.

Somehow, as Draco ran toward her, he felt like she knew where she was, because she was quietly staring at the stone precipice in the middle of the large cave, standing beside a large column where a stalagmite from the floor formed together with a stalactite from the ceiling, and she said, "I've been here before, haven't I?"

Draco looked at Don and Don shook his head, just as confused as Draco was. Don said, "You have, but there's no way you could remember that, since it happens in the future."

"No, I see everything clearly," she said. "I see Neville and Padma Patil and I believe Michael Corner. I see Dean Thomas and a black man I've never seen before."

Draco was worried. How could this Hermione possibly be having flashes of memory of something that hasn't even happened to her yet? Draco said, "What do you mean you see them? There's no one there but us, Hermione."

She turned to him, frustrated, and she said, "I mean I see it in my mind. It's like a distance, hazing memory. I feel like I am in a soporific haze right now. Like I'm talking to you, but I'm somewhere else. What's happening to me?"

She turned away from him, started to the middle of the large cave, when suddenly she went into what looked like a fit of some sort. She dropped limply toward the ground, shook twice, and then past out cold.

Don reached her before Draco. He said, "Quickly, we've got to get her out of here." Don picked her up and they ran to the opening of the cave. They ran past the bush that protected the opening of the cave, and outside waiting for them was Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and oddly enough, Professors Snape and McGonagall.

Harry said, "What have you done to her, Malfoy?" He reached out to the injury on her forehead.

"Nothing, Potter," Draco said.

Don hurried along the trail back to the castle, the rest close behind. Harry shouted toward Draco, "You were gone for hours and then we find you and she's injured and unconscious!"

Draco looked back and said, "She got stuck in a damn tree." Harry pulled on Draco's arm to stop him. Everyone else continued their quick pace back to safety.

Harry didn't understand and said, "What the hell do you mean?"

Draco didn't care if Harry understood or not, and he certainly wasn't going to stand around and try to make up a lie, not when his wife was unconscious and being carried back to the castle. He faced the younger man and said, "She was stuck in a tree, I joined her, and then Professor Boot rescued us, and then she just past out. Is the inquisition over?"

"NO!" Harry said. "If I find out that you've harmed her, even prison won't be good enough for you!" Harry drew his wand. Draco drew his. Snape had turned back from the path just in time to see light emitting from both wands, as both men hexed each other at the same time.

**The Present, once more:**

Nick Boot and Hermione Granger sat on her bed at her house and she opened her eyes. She said, "I hope it worked. Do you think it worked?"

"Only time will tell. I'll try to communicate with Don tonight, and we'll see if the link between the you of now and the you of the past, worked. We have to pray that it does, because we have to have a better way to communicate with Don and Draco then just by dreams at night. We need a way to communicate immediate thoughts, without changing the future. By the way, what were you thinking about when I put you under this time?" Nick asked her.

"Well, first I was just trying to think of boring things, but something made me think of the cave where Professor Mankin took me to, the one where I killed him. I don't know what made me think of that," she said.

He smiled and patted her arm. He said, "Try to get some rest now. We don't want to become too tired. You have to think of your daughter."

She looked down at her expanding belly and she said, "Oh believe me, I think of her everyday."


	15. Part XV

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XV:**

**Accusations:**

Don walked out of the Hospital wing and saw Harry, Draco, Snape, and Ron waiting in the hall. McGonagall followed right behind Don and told Harry and Ron to go back to their dorms.

"I'll go back when he does," Harry said emphatically, pointing toward Draco.

"Mr. Potter, seeing how you and Mr. Malfoy are already looking at another detention due to your impromptu duel after your other detention, I would advise you to do as I say," McGonagall scolded. When neither Ron nor Harry moved, McGonagall said, "Mr. Malfoy has yet to be checked for his own injuries, and that is why he is still here, now move."

The two Gryffindors moved down the hall reluctantly, but they did go back to their dorm. McGonagall looked at the remaining men and said, "I know you have things you cannot tell me. Professor Boot has explained some things to me, but not all. I want you to know that I will do my best to help you with your task. All of you." The woman left, her black robes billowing behind her.

"What did you tell her?" Draco asked.

"Just enough to give us her trust, but no specifics in anyway. I told her I was here to protect Miss Granger, and that you and I are friends, and that I trust you. I was always one of her favourites back in school, even though I was in Ravenclaw, so she trusts me. Draco, you need to have the bump on your head looked at, also I thought you might want some time with Hermione, then I think it's best that you come down to the Great Hall for dinner. We don't want to cast any more suspicion on your and Hermione's relationship."

He nodded and walked slowly into the Hospital wing. The old medi-witch, who was near and dear to Draco's heart, was attending to his wife. He said, "Is she awake?"

"Not yet," she answered.

"Why did she faint?" Draco asked.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Malfoy, but all seems well. I think she is just in a deep sleep. Let me look at your head," she said, coming toward him.

He waved her away and said, "No, I'm fine. May I have a moment with her?"

The older woman looked bewildered for a moment, and then nodded. She walked into her office. Draco went to Hermione's bed and sat down. He leaned toward her and said, "Wake up, your prince Charming is here." He kissed her lips sweetly and then sat up to look at her. She didn't even move. He swept his hand across her forehead, which still had a bruise, and then leaned down to kiss her again.

A person stood in the doorway, and saw the whole thing. He walked away, confused.

Draco went begrudgingly down to the Great Hall for dinner. It seemed that most of the Slytherins had already heard bits and pieces about the happenings of their detention. He was bombarded with questions ranging from: "Did you get lost in the forest?" to "Did you really have a duel with Potter?" He didn't answer a one, until Blaise, who sat beside him, leaned over and in a whisper asked, "Did you hurt Granger? Potter is telling everyone that she was carried unconscious from the Forest, and that you were responsible. A fifth year Slytherin saw her being carried by Professor Boot, and said that she had a big bruise on her head, with dried blood."

Draco turned toward his friend and said, "What was the question?" That was Draco's way of not answering, and Blaise understood. He turned back to his food, while Draco pushed his away.

Harry went back up to the Hospital wing after dinner. Hermione was still sleeping. He sat in the chair by her bed and picked up her hand. He said, "I should have protected you better. I wish Dumbledore were here. I could tell him my suspicions. I could insist that he expel Malfoy. He tried to kill you today. I can't even imagine the fight you must have had, I mean, look at your head, and Pomfrey told me your arm was broken."

"Actually," she said, her eyes opening, "I hurt my head by running into a tree." She wouldn't tell him she found herself _inside_ the tree. She sat up and added, "Malfoy was surly, odious, and a pain in the arse today, but he didn't hurt me." She felt that was the truth, so she didn't feel guilt as if she were lying to Harry.

"What about your arm," he asked.

"The same stupid tree."

"You passed out," Harry said.

"I don't have an explanation for that one," she said. She reached over for Harry's hand and said, "Harry, you have asked for a lot of blind trust from Ron and I over the years, and while you have shared many things with us, you've hidden a fair few as well. I can't tell you how I know that Draco won't hurt me, but I know, absolutely, that he will not. I also have to tell you that I will try my best to stay away from him, but if you find us talking, don't do anything rash. I heard that you had a nice little fight with him in the forest."

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I have my sources," she said. He regarded her for a moment, and then raised one corner of his mouth in a half smile so she added, "Fine, Madam Pomfrey told me."

"Are you ready to go back up to our tower?" he asked, standing up and sounding hopeful.

"I have to stay here tonight. Come collect me for breakfast though, okay? And since it's Sunday tomorrow, we can spend the whole day together studying."

Harry's mouth went into a firm line and she laughed and stated, "My head must be causing delusions. What I meant to say was, since it's Sunday tomorrow, I will spend the whole day with you, doing whatever you want. I will even watch you play Quidditch."

He leaned down, kissed her cheek, and said, "It's a date." He started toward the door, but once there he looked at her again and said, "But I still don't trust Malfoy."

Hermione doubted that he ever would.

**To Ask a Question:**

It was very late, and Hermione was all alone in the Hospital wing. She hadn't eaten much from her tray, so she was hungry, lonely, and to top it off, very cold. It looked as if winter would be coming early. She slipped out of bed and walked over to one of the long, narrow windows to look out into the black, night sky. She couldn't see anything, but she wasn't really 'looking' for anything. She was merely thinking.

She was thinking about everything that Draco had told her, and how it sounded almost too fantastic to be real, yet somehow she still believed him. She also felt some trepidation, for even though Draco did not want to harm her, apparently someone named Ellen did. What was to keep this Ellen woman from coming into the Hospital wing, and unbeknownst to Draco and Don, kill her in her sleep. She was about to go find Madame Pomfrey, to ask her if she could go back to her tower, when she heard a noise. Anxious, she turned around quickly on her way to the Medi-witch's office, when she saw Draco slip into the hospital wing.

Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she ran over to him. She almost threw herself into his arms, and indeed, he must have expected that, because he opened them to receive her, but then lowered them when she stopped short.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You shouldn't be here."

"You should be in bed."

"I'm restless."

"I know."

"I'm slightly afraid."

"You should be."

"Not of you."

Laughs. "You should be."

"What if Ellen comes to hurt me tonight."

"Don is guarding outside of the doors to the Hospital wing. Nothing will get past him."

"He seems like a good man."

"He's my best friend."

"Everyone needs a good friend," she said.

"Too bad yours is Potter," he said with a laugh.

"I thought since we were married, maybe we were each other's best friends." She looked down at her feet. They were bare. She only had on a thin, white nightgown… white cotton, which made Draco smile.

"Go back to bed, Granger. If you get the sniffles, Potter will probably use the Cruciatus curse on me."

She walked back over to bed, threw back the covers and placed her legs under them. He came to sit next to her.

"May I ask you a few more questions?" she asked.

"It's late, and I need to get back, so make it quick. The other Slytherins are bound to have more questions for me as well."

"I have too many things to ask you. I can't make it quick."

He stood up, leaned over her, and kissed her forehead. He said, "We have time. You can ask me more questions tomorrow." He started to go, but she grabbed his wrist. He looked down at her hand as it hung onto his wrist in a vise like grip. She got up on her knees, and he turned to face her.

"One question, before you leave," she said. He raised his brows as a sign for her to continue. "Will you kiss me goodnight?"

He closed his eyes. "I don't know if I could just kiss you. I want to kiss you so much, but I might not be able to stop, and then I guarantee Potter would kill me."

"Please?"

How could a man resist such a sweet plea from the woman he loved? He said, "Do you know how lucky I am?"

"Lucky?"

"I get to fall in love with you twice. Not many men can say that."

"I get to fall in love with you twice, too, but I won't even remember it. I think that makes me the unluckiest of all women." She kept her tight hold on his wrist, and moved closer to him, still on her knees. Then, to his surprise, she stood up on the bed, where she now towered over him, and put her hands on his shoulders. He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her to the floor. He looked down at her, and he saw a pleading look in her eyes. She was begging him with her gaze. There was no other way to say it. She let her body sink into his, and he was lost forever.

She tilted her head toward his. He had to kiss her now. Kiss her or perish. He looked around, saw no one, and he placed his arms around her, low on her back. He brushed his lips against hers softly, tenderly; it was everything she thought a kiss from him would be. It was a real kiss, not quick and brief, like the one after the Quidditch match. It was warm, gentle, and inviting. He moved his mouth from hers and trailed kisses across her cheek and face, murmuring sweet nothings, which her mind could not even begin to process.

This was the man she was born to love. One of his hands went lower and cupped her bottom, she let out a little moan, and then he knew he was lost.

He deepened the kiss, wondering if his seventeen-year-old wife had ever kissed like this before. He did not think so. He knew that his sixteen-year-old body had kissed like this before, and even done much more, but it was never like this. He loved her, so that made this kiss sweeter than wine. His tongue moved inside her mouth, and met hers, he moved his head to the other side, and her arms tightened around his neck.

He found himself lifting her from the floor, his arms around her tightly, and he was now kissing her neck. He wanted to kiss her everywhere, but he couldn't, at least not now. With reluctance, he placed her feet back on the floor, and she kept her eyes closed and leaned against him. He looked at her, then shut his eyes again, clenched his jaw, and said, "I have to go."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I know."

He left her standing alone by her bed and he didn't look back once. A whirlwind of emotions were wreaking havoc with his brain and his heart. Desire, Love, Guilt, Passion, Confusion, Remorse. He felt like he was cheating on his wife with his wife. It was beyond bizarre. He didn't want anything to cloud his mind or judgment, because if he lost this Hermione, he would lose his, and that was one loss he couldn't survive. Give him the Dark Mark, order him to commit murder, but if he lost his wife, he would lose his will to live. He would lose his very soul.

He walked toward Don, who was sleeping near the doors, on a chair. He put his hand on the man's shoulder. Don woke up, looked at Draco, and Draco said, "We have to end this thing soon." Then he practically ran down the corridor to the dungeons below.

**To sleep, perchance, to Dream:**

Hermione went back to bed, pulled the covers up to her chin, and she had the most amazing dream. She dreamt of her future, with Draco Malfoy.

In her dream, they had just moved into a large three-story house in Hogsmeade. She started to walk in the door and he said, "Tradition, Granger. I must carry you over the threshold."

"That's silly," she said.

"It's tradition, and I am nothing without tradition. It rules my life," he said.

She gave him a look that said, "What?" but she let him pick her up and he started to carry her over the threshold. She said, "Don't hit my head on the door jam, like you did when you carried me over the threshold of Bill's cottage for our honeymoon."

"Double doors, my dear. I think even your big head will fit through double doors." He walked through the double doors as she slapped his face lightly at his teasing. He set her down and said, "Well, do you like it?"

She began to look around, and, the fact was, that it was everything she would have picked out in a home. Both of their mothers decorated it, and when she first found out that he bought a home for her without her knowledge, she was beyond livid, but now, she was beyond happy. She went from room to room, flitting about, and ran up the stairs. When she found what she assumed was their room she bounded for his arms and said, "You get a gold star for being such a great husband!"

"What do I get if I get five gold stars?" he asked.

"A kiss," she said.

"Hey, I think five are worth sex, Granger."

"Sex it is," she said with a laugh. She walked up to him and kissed his mouth, with a deep, hard, open mouth kiss. He was immediately aroused.

He kissed her jaw line, to her chin. His lips lingered on the side of her mouth. He traced her lips with his tongue. "You are so beautiful, and I'm the luckiest man on earth to have you for a wife."

"I almost think I would have to agree," she said seriously.

"That I'm lucky or you are?" he asked for clarification.

"Both, I suppose."

He leaned toward her to kiss her again, this time his destination was more than just her mouth. He kissed her lips, with a deep pressure, his tongue rolling around with hers. "I love you," he said. His passion no longer in check, his thirst and hunger wild in his soul, he could wait no longer. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto her back. He kissed her hard as he palmed one of her breasts, always amazed at how it fit his hand perfectly. He continued kissing her neck, while his hands began to remove her clothing. He didn't stop kissing her once, even as he worked to remove his own. Once they were both nude, he brought his mouth down to her chest, and he placed one of her nipples in his mouth, which caused her to clench her thighs together.

Draco kissed her again. She finally moved from his grasp and sat on the side of the bed. As he stood from the bed, before her, she raised her hands to his chest, and then brought them down slowly, marveling at his sculptured torso. She put her hands on his neck, moved them across the expanse of his chest, across his shoulders, down his biceps. He put his hands on her shoulders, and moved then down her arms. He put both hand on her face, rubbing his thumbs back and forth and then leaned down to kiss her again. She got up on her knees, on the bed, so he wouldn't have to bend down, although she wouldn't mind if he just went ahead and got on the bed with her. Her hard nipples pressed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms tight around her waist. One hand went down, grabbed a cheek of her bum, and squeezed it lightly.

He lowered her down to the bed again, placed one knee beside her, and leaned over with one hand still roaming her breasts. He stroked the outside of each breast with his fingertips before coming up to tweak a nipple. He sat beside her, and again he placed his mouth on one breast. Kissing one, and then the other, her nipples became hard and erect, which they stayed as he laved them with his tongue, and then placed one in his mouth.

He continued to lick her nipples, back and forth, and then he raised his head to look at her breasts. Her nipples were hard and swollen. He lay beside her, as he continued kissing her chest, neck, and breasts. His hand traveled down her body, feeling the electrical current, which seemed to float from her skin, to his skin, and then disapparate in the air.

She squirmed, and moaned, and he wasn't a silent participant either. Her skin glistening with desire, and it tingled and glowed. He was on fire, plain and simple. She was the only one who could make him feel this way.

His right hand came to rest on her hip, and he sat upright again, and the placed each hand on her hips. He moved his hands slowly down her legs, concentrating on both of their breathing, which almost seems synchronized.

When she started to tremble, and her breathing was no longer even, but ragged, he leaned over her to kiss her hip. He kissed across her stomach, watching it move in excitement. She was clutching his shoulders, her fingertips warm on his flesh.

He lay across her left leg, and bent her right leg at the knee. He kissed the inside of her thigh, all the way down to her knee. He let go of her leg, and for a moment, he rested his head on her lower abdomen, holding tightly. He placed his body on the lower half of the bed, between her legs, to taste the sweetest thing that had ever graced his lips. He had to taste her. He moved his mouth from one hip, back over to the other, resting his hand between her open legs. His thumb applied pressure, and she squirmed. He placed his mouth at her opening and she cried aloud.

Her hands were in his hair, pulling at it, pushing him further. He edged her legs open wider with his elbows, and continued until she started to making a mewing noise and then a deep sigh went over her body, starting at her mouth, but ending at the tips of her toes.

He moved back up to her face, whispering in her mouth, "Do you love me?"

"You know I do," she said. She pushed him to his back. Now it was his turn.

This time, she kissed him, and it wasn't gentle by any means. It was a hard assault. Her hand went down to stroke him, pulling at him, as her thumb moved over his tip. He threw his head back, took a deep breath and groaned. He couldn't help it. It was all he could do to move to his back, close his eyes, and give in to the gratification that she presented. She leaned over him, placed her mouth on him until he was so close he was about to scream himself. He reached down, took a hold of her face and brought her back up to meet him.

Pushing her roughly onto her back, he crawled on top of her, and entered her slowly, a bit at a time, not wanting to end their lovemaking. She winced and grimaced, as he moaned loudly. He pushed the rest of the way in, found the rhythm that with her was always perfect, moving his body up and down hers; hovering over hers by his strong arms.

Her hands went from his neck to his back, and then back up again. He lifted his face to kiss her again. He let his face drop to the crevice between her shoulder and neck. When she started to come, she stifled her scream by biting his shoulder. Though he was slightly aware of the pain, mostly he was aware of the pleasure surpassing all other understanding. He quickened his pace, going back a forth a few more times, as he too came. He yelled her name, and then he collapsed on top of her. She finally rolled him off her and with her body still aflame, he pulled her to his arms, reached down for the covers of the bed, and then kissed her once again.

Hermione said, "Happy house warming. That was your house warming present."

"Better than a toaster," he said.

Hermione woke up, sweat pouring off her, skin tingling, eyes wide. That dream felt so real. Everything about it felt real. She was a virgin, and she knew she had never experience anything close to that dream before, but in a way, she knew she had. It was real. It was. And in the dream, while in the throes of passion, he didn't call her Granger or Little One. He called her Hermione, just like he said told her he did.

**Present Day:**

Hermione woke up, sweat pouring off her, skin tingling, eyes wide. She threw her feet to the floor, and stood up, crossing to the other side of the room, holding her arm around her belly. She had just had a dream, but it wasn't a dream. She had dreamt about the first time they made love in this very room, in this very bed, and so help her; the memory was so crisp, clear, and exact that it couldn't have just been a dream. For one thing, she knew it had really happened once, and so help her, it felt like it just happened again.


	16. Part XVI

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XVI:**

**Lost Family****:**

Terry Boot was watching Hermione Granger all during Transfiguration. The main reason he was watching her was that Draco Malfoy wasn't. Since the beginning of the year, he had noticed a shift, a transformation, between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. He would catch Draco watching her. He would catch Hermione Granger watching him. He might not have thought twice about it until recently.

Two weeks ago, Terry went up to the Hospital wing because he had heard that his brother Don had carried an injured Hermione Granger into the school, followed by an injured Draco Malfoy. He was also told that his brother looked as if he had been injured.

When he could, he made his way to the Hospital wing. He stepped inside and he saw the oddest thing. He saw Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger locked in an embrace. He left and returned a short time later. The second time he found his brother sitting in a chair, outside the Hospital wing, with numerous injuries, although they looked mostly healed. When he questioned his brother about it, the most he would say was that he was doing business for The Brotherhood of the Raven and that he couldn't tell Terry any more than that.

That wasn't enough for Terry. He wrote to his father, who was the current leader of The Brotherhood. His father wrote back to say that he wasn't aware of giving Don a task to do, but that if that was what Don told him, then he shouldn't question it. Then he wrote his brother Nick, who was away at University. He asked him to use his psychic ability to see if he could tell what Don was doing. Nick wrote back and told Terry that perhaps he should mind his own business.

There was only one thing left to do. He wrote to his brother Paul. His brother graduated from Hogwarts the year before. He had started an internship at the Ministry. He requested that Paul meet him at Hogsmeade. Terry snuck out of the castle grounds that next weekend to meet his brother Paul.

He told Paul his suspicions about Draco and Hermione. He said that he had a feeling, which was shared by other members of his house, including his best friends, Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner, that Draco Malfoy was already a Death Eater. He told Paul that he knew Harry Potter would never trust Draco, and that just because the DA disbanded, didn't mean that they shouldn't still all be on guard.

He asked for Paul's advice. He wondered if Hermione was under the Imperius. He wondered if she was a threat to Harry Potter. He wondered if Hermione was secretly working with Malfoy. He wondered so many things that his head hurt.

Unlike Don, Paul didn't tell his little brother to mind his own business. Unlike his father, he wasn't indifferent of him. Unlike Nick, he wasn't condescending. Paul listened and then told him that he would check things out and get back with him. Terry felt somewhat better. Not appeased, but at least not dismissed.

After Paul walked him back to the school grounds, Terry showed his brother a letter he had received. He was originally going to show it only to Don, but since Paul was the only supportive family member he had at the moment, he would show him.

Paul read the letter and seemed immediately angry. "When did you get this?"

"Last week."

"How did it arrive?" Paul asked, pacing on the road before his brother.

"How do you think? Not by carrier pigeon, I can assure you. It came by an owl." Terry took the letter back from his brother.

"Have you showed this to anyone? Don, Nick or Father?" Paul asked.

"No, but I was thinking of writing to mother to see if this Ellen woman's claims are true," Terry said.

"NO!" Paul all but shouted. "I want to do some investigating there as well, but I assure you, Mother never had a daughter before she married Father, and Don most certainly is her son. This is a crazy letter from a crazy woman. You have enough to worry about with school and the impending war. Just don't worry about this." Paul held out his hand. He wanted the letter back.

Terry didn't want to give it to him. He said, "The woman seems to know a lot about us. She even knows the fact that we are double animagus. She says she is as well. Perhaps I should meet with her, like she wants."

Paul rushed up to his brother and took him by the shoulders. He shook him hard. "Don't meet with this woman. Promise me that you won't! I won't have anything bad happen to you!" He jerked the letter from his brother's hand and pointed toward the gate. "Go now! Go back where it's safe."

Terry started toward the gate, but turned back once. "Paul?" he asked as he saw his brother turn to a raven and fly away.

Terry ran back toward the school, still confused, and wondering if he somehow made things a bit worse.

**Present Day:**

"Where is she?" Lucius asked, running down the hall of St. Mungo's, his hair and robes billowing behind him.

His wife held out her hand to stop him and said, "They're examining her now."

"How did this happen? She was never to be alone! Where were the men I hired to watch over her? Where were the bloody Order members? Where were the Brotherhood and the Aurors?" Lucius was livid.

"Darling, please, calm down. Nick Boot went to get her parents, and Harry Potter will be out shortly to answer our questions."

He took a calming breath and sat down. His wife put her hand on his arm and patted it nervously. Lucius said, "At least tell me what you know."

"We were in Diagon Alley, and we had just left the bookstore. Hermione asked me if I minded if we stopped for ice cream. I told her that I needed to go see about my new robes, but that I would meet her there," Narcissa began.

He interrupted with, "You left her alone?"

"My dear, as you said, there were not only two of your men following us, but also that youngest Weasley son, and he is both an Auror and a member of the Order. He was the one that went into the ice cream parlor with her, while your men waited outside. I don't really know what happened after that, because I was almost across the street when I heard screaming, and when I turned, people were running out of the shop. Your men ran in and I ran in after them. She was on the floor, unconscious, and the Weasley boy had her in his arm, although it was apparently he was wounded as well, and he was yelling for someone to help them."

Harry walked up to them and said, "Then, another Auror came to Ron's aid, and apparated them both to St. Mungo's. They are both in a bad way. According to witnesses, a wizard came out of nowhere, pointed his wand at Hermione, and sent a curse toward her. Ron sent a curse toward the man to try to block the spell, but the curse rebounded off Ron's curse, and got them both. If the full impact had hit her, she would be dead."

Harry felt so tired. He sat down. His two best friends were both severely injured. Lucius asked, "And the child?"

Harry said, "It's too soon to tell."

**The Past:  
**

Don was sleeping soundly when he woke up with a start. He had a dream, but it was two-fold. He dreamt that his brother Paul was here at Hogwarts with them, not the 19-year-old Paul from this time, but Paul from the future. In his dream, Paul was angry and was searching for Ellen. As that dream became more vivid, he had another, in succession, and this one was the more disturbing of the two. He dreamt that Hermione was severely injured by a rogue curse, and that not only her life was being held in the balance, but also the life of her child. When he sat up in bed, he immediately shut his eyes again, to try to focus on the dreams, so he could decipher if either were messages from Nick. Then he knew that they were both messages from his brother, but strangely enough, he felt that one was from the Nick of the future, and one was from the Nick of the past.

He sprang from bed and went to see Professor Snape.

It was the middle of the night, and Professor Snape roused Draco from sleep. He sat up, groggily, and said, "What's wrong?"

That was when he saw Don behind Snape. He looked around his dorm and saw Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini staring at him, also sitting up in their beds. Snape said, "It's your father." However, Draco knew that was a lie.

Something was wrong with his wife.

Snape dragged Draco from his bed and threw his clothing at him. Draco dressed as quickly as he could and once out of the Slytherin dorm, and safely in the hall with Snape and Don, he said, "Tell me."

Don said, "It's Hermione. She was cursed earlier in Diagon Alley. She was apparently injured badly, badly enough for Nick to send me a message in my dreams."

"Is she dead?" he asked. Even as he said it, the words sounded odd and foreign to him. He asked it so calmly, as if he was asking the time of night.

Don shook his head no.

Draco knew he had just asked a question, but he felt as if he were still asleep, because this could not be real. Then he asked, "Oh, no, is the baby dead?"

"I don't know. The vision stopped. I woke up. Maybe Nick doesn't know."

Draco pushed Don against the wall and held his arm against the older man's neck. Snape reached for Draco, but Don put up his hand to stop Snape. "WELL FIND OUT!"

"It's not that easy!"

"We can't even do anything! Why tell us if we can't even do anything!" Draco screamed.

"Maybe he didn't mean to tell me even. Maybe he was just thinking it, and I noticed it, because usually his instructions to me are more clear-cut. I'm sorry. I should have waited for more news to tell you, but I thought you would want to know," Don said. Draco still had his forearm pressed against Don's neck. He released it slowly.

"Hermione of the future is the one in real peril, isn't she?" Draco asked.

"I think they both are," Don said. He decided not to trouble Draco with the other dream, at least not yet.

He looked at Snape and said, "Can you send someone to make sure the Hermione of this time is alright?"

Snape agreed and then said to Don, "Take him up to your room. I'll write a note excusing him from classes tomorrow."

Hermione wondered where Draco was today. He wasn't in the Great Hall for breakfast, and so far, he wasn't in any of their classes. They didn't have Potions today, but she made an excuse to go see Don Boot. She needed to find out if all was well with Draco.

For the last two weeks, she had played by all his rules. She ignored him for the most part, and he ignored her. He made some scathing remarks, so others would think they were still enemies. She would make cutting remarks back to him. If nothing else, their reintroduced animosity made Harry happier. Hermione was fine with it, as long as it was all an act. They still stole moments alone. They meet twice in the Library, one time merely smiling at each other. Another time, he walked by her table and he skimmed her back with his index finger.

They met twice after classes, once after DADA, and once after Potions. Both times, all they did was greet each other and smile. It was enough for her. The other day in the hall, they were with their respective friends, and when they past each other Draco said, "No one is trying to kill you today, are they Mudblood?"

Harry looked enraged. Even Weasley, whom she had not been getting along with lately, looked upset. Hermione made a face and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, Malfoy, but no, I seem to be well, thank you." Seamus and Ginny laughed. Even Blaise had to smile.

Draco walked past; scowl still on his face, but inside, she suspected he was beaming. There had been no attempts on her life for two weeks. Hermione didn't know what Draco and Don were doing, but it must be working.

She knew that Don had a class, so she waited outside the room for it to finish. When the last of his third year potions students trickled out, she rapped on the door. Don looked up, to see that it was she, and said, "Come in, Hermione."

"Don, I mean, Professor Boot, may I ask you a question," she asked, slowly walking into the room.

He laughed and said, "You just did, and by the way, you may call me Don when we're alone, and I already know what you want to know. Draco wasn't in classes today because he's not feeling well, plain and simple. Nothing's wrong. Are you okay?" He placed a book on his desk and walked up to her.

She nodded but then said, "I think you're lying to me."

"You don't know me well enough to think that," he said slyly.

"I'm concerned for him, that's all," she said. She took a note out of her pocket. She said, "Will you give him this, and just tell him that I'm thinking of him." He smiled, and took the note, all the while reaching in his robe pocket for a similar note.

"Here's one for you from him," he said.

She smiled widely and then hugged him. He hugged her back. While still in an embrace, she said, "Draco told me a bit of what you've had to give up over the years to protect us. I'm grateful and will be forever in your debt."

He held her and then kissed the top of her head. He said, "I don't ever require your indebtedness, or gratitude. Now, a million galleons – that I wouldn't turn away."

She pushed away from his chest, but stayed in his arms and laughed. He bent down again and this time he kissed forehead. As he was kissing her, Terry walked in the room. He dropped his books.

Don turned toward the noise, as did Hermione. Terry picked up his books, and ran away down the hall. Don looked back at Hermione and said, "Excuse me, Hermione. I have to go after him and try to explain to him what he just saw."

He ran out of the room and after his brother.

Hermione walked toward the hall, watching one man run after the other. She walked back into the classroom to read her letter from Draco when she saw someone approach the door. She smiled at the person and said, "Hello."

"Hello," the good-looking man said back. "Do you know where I might find Don Boot? I was told that this was his classroom, and that he had a free period right now."

"He just ran after his brother Terry," she said. She held out her hand and said, "My name is Hermione Granger."

The man smiled, held out his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Hermione Granger. I'm another Boot Brother. My name is Paul."

**Back to the Present:**

Harry felt as if he couldn't breathe. He wasn't at all happy with the turn of events, but he was a man of reason and he saw that what Lucius was proposing made sense.

Lucius said, "So, Don and Draco will be moved to the Manor. Hermione will come there as soon as she is released from Hospital. We are all agreed, yes?"

Hermione's father looked at his wife and said, "I still think perhaps she would be better off with us at our home. Harry said he could put up protection."

"No," Mrs. Granger said. "I agree with Lucius. She would be safer at the Manor, and we can visit her there. We aren't just talking about her, but her baby. Their safety is priority number one."

Harry finally felt he needed to speak. He said, "Hermione isn't going to agree to this. She won't be happy about her loss of freedom, and no offense, Mr. Malfoy, but I know she would definitely NOT want to go to the Manor. She should have a say in this."

"Yes, she should, but not you Potter," Lucius said back. "In any case, I am still taking my son there, along with his best friend, Don Boot. I feel it is in their best interest to be there, and I am sure Hermione will want to go where they are."

"That's blackmail," Harry said. "You're forcing her to go there if you take Draco, which by the way, you have no legal grounds to do."

"Which by the way," Lucius mocked, "is being done as we speak."

**Back to Past:**

Hermione went up to the Astronomy tower, accompanied by Don's brother Paul. Once she was there, he told her farewell, that he was off to find his brother. Hermione sat down and began to read Draco's letter.

_My dear future wife,_

_We met as enemies on a train, so long ago. We left all that was familiar, for a place another place that which we thought was going to be familiar, but instead of familiar, it was unknown. We left our homes and families a million light years away. We traveled a long way to find freedom with each other. It was a just reward. We deserved some happiness, you and I._

_We dreamt of a future, and as it happened, it was sweeter than anything we could ever have imagined. We have fought hard to keep our dream alive. Sometimes our hopes were shattered, but our spirits and love have never wavered._

_They can take away our money, our homes, our past, but they will never take our future. Sometimes I lie awake at night and I cry for you, the you of here and now, and the you of tomorrow. I miss the smell of your hair, the turn of your smile, and your sweet, sweet lips._

_We live each day with one constant in sight. A future untold, a future to behold, a future to unfold – in other words, a future. _

_I'm glad I've traveled so far to be with you and I would do it again in a heartbeat._

_I love you, _

_Your future husband, _

_Draco._


	17. Part XVII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XVII**

**Missing Classes:**

Draco missed two more days of classes. He knew that Hermione would be worried, but he couldn't face seeing this Hermione without knowing if his Hermione was all right. Don hadn't had any more dreams, so all they could do was wait. In the meantime, Draco fell deeper and deeper into a depression.

It would soon be Christmas. He remembered that Christmas was terrible this year. His father was in prison, his task to kill the Headmaster loomed over him, he had to crash Slughorn's party, and he had to find a way to make sure the poison mead made its way to Slughorn, so it could be delivered to Dumbledore. Even though Draco knew from experiencing it the first time, the poisoned mead never made it to Dumbledore, he was still worried. Things could change. What if this time Slughorn was honest and gave the port to Dumbledore? What if Weasley died while drinking the mead? What if Harry forgot about the antidote? What if Hermione didn't invite Cormac to the party this time, as she did the first time?

There were so many variables, lined up in a row, which had to be played out exactly, that it worried Draco to no end. He felt just as anxious as he did the first go round.

Then there was the letter from Hermione. Don gave it to him two days ago, and he still hadn't read it. He might as well read it now. He walked up to the Owlery to send his mother an owl to tell her that he wouldn't be home for Christmas. Then he sat down on the icy steps and began to read Hermione's letter.

* * *

_Draco, _

_Boys grow up too fast, and sometimes they seem to steal what would someday be given to them anyway. And what do they get for their trouble and strife? Nothing. Absolutely nothing._

_Children should not have to live the lives of men._

_We grow up believing in romance, like Romeo and Juliet, but why should we romanticize a couple whose future was unknown? We need to remember what is promised to us, and know that someday everthing will come to pass. We just need to be patient enough to wait for it, and believe that it will last._

_Young girls lay in bed at night and pray for a future that is shiny, bright and happy. Instead of embracing their innocence, they seem to drown in their childish make-believe. Sometimes they are even blinded by their fantasies, blind to the reality. They dream of handsome heros, who will show them their devotion. However, in the end they just end up with tattered hearts and broken spirits. Someone needs to tell these children that Romeo and Juliet died too soon._

_Draco, I think I need to wait for you. I know what I have to do to make sure that happens. Trust me._

_Love, Hermione_

* * *

Draco read the letter again, and he thought the letter almost seemed as if it was written by the future Hermione. However, he knew she was right. They would have their chance at love, but now was not the time. He would have his future with Hermione, and no one would take that away from him. Still, something about her cryptic note at the end puzzled him, and made him feel even more apprehensive. He hung his head and cried.

Snape found Don Boot in his classroom. He said, "You wanted to see me, Mr. Boot."

"Professor Snape, someone is stealing ingredients from the storeroom."

"Have you mentioned this to Slughorn?" he asked back, almost disinterested.

"No, but the thing is, what was stolen was very interesting. The ingredients for Vertitserum as well as ingredients for Immemoratio potion," Don said.

"Who would be brewing a potion to make someone forget? There are spells that are more useful and last longer, such as Obliviate," Snape pointed out.

"I'm aware of that," said Don, "but this still concerns me."

"As well it should. Put up locks and charms on the storeroom. Come see me if anything else is taken," he said.

Don nodded and then went to find Draco. He knew that he had already missed two days of classes, and he wanted to tell him that he was here to do a job, so he needed to pull himself together.

He was almost to his room when he saw two familiar looking people coming his way, his brother's Terry and Paul. Don frowned and walked toward them. "Paul, what are you doing here?"

"I was actually here a couple of days ago to talk to you, but I couldn't find you," Paul said. He looked at Terry and said, "Tell him what you told me."

Terry looked from his favourite brother Don, to the brother closest to him in age, Paul, and he felt torn. Paul wanted Terry to lie to Don. Well, not really lie, but he only wanted Terry to tell Don part of the truth. He wanted him to tell him about his letter from this woman named Ellen, but not about his suspicions about Hermione and Draco, which Terry found odd. Still, he would trust Paul, at least for the time being.

Terry took a tattered envelope from his pocket and said, "This came about a month ago. It's from a woman named Ellen. She claims she's our sister. She wants to meet with me. It doesn't say why. She claims our mother had her before she married father, and that she hid her away. She also says that you are just our half brother, and that your real mother was killed by our mother."

Don was afraid of something like this. He took the letter from Terry and read it, disgust evident on his face. He looked at Terry and said, "I sense there's something else you want to tell me."

Terry glanced quickly to Paul, and then said, "No, nothing else. What shall we do?"

Don felt livid. Nevertheless, this might be their only chance to find Ellen. He wanted to trust his brothers, and tell them the truth, but he knew that Terry would ask too many questions, and there was no way he could tell his little brother his doomed fate. He said, "Let me talk with Nick." Don had wanted to meet with Nick anyway. He knew of all his brothers, he could trust him the most. Paul was constantly on the fringe, reckless and somewhat self-serving, and Terry was just too eager and young. Nick was the brother he needed to see.

"After I see Nick, we will decide how to proceed. Perhaps Nick will be able to put some insight into the situation. In the meantime, if you get another letter, let me know."

Paul said, "I think Terry should meet her, with us hiding, so we can protect him. See what she wants and who she really is."

"NO," Don said firmly. He knew that Ellen wasn't under the protection of the blue moon. What if she wanted to kill Terry before his time? His death would directly have an effect on the future. If he wasn't alive during Hermione and Draco's eighth year, they both might have died several times. He rubbed his temples in frustration, a headache about to erupt. Yes, he needed Nick. Perhaps Nick knew the answers they sought concerning Ellen and the Hermione of the future.

**I've Had a Bad Day Again:**

"What's with Granger, do you suppose?" Blaise asked as they sat down for lunch.

Draco didn't even look up, but he was listening intently.

"What do you mean?" Pansy asked.

"She's sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table. She's all alone, except for Longbottom," he answered.

Theo leaned forward and said, "Weasley made fun of her in Transfiguration class. She did something wrong and he had a right fine laugh at her. Potter finally had to tell him to back off."

"Ah, trouble in paradise," said Blaise.

"Indeed," Theo remarked. "She left the class in tears and McGonagall docked Weasley ten points."

Pansy placed her hand on Draco's leg. "Aren't you feeling any better? Maybe you should miss the afternoon classes. Go see the Mediwitch." She stroked his thigh.

He removed her hand and said, "I've missed two days of classes. That's enough."

"Are you going home for Christmas?" she asked.

Draco pushed his plate of food away. He decided to go see Don Boot before class. "No," he said shortly. He stood up and said, "I'm going on to our next class."

"But it doesn't start for thirty minutes," Pansy said, but it was of no use, he was already halfway to the door.

Hermione fiddled with her shoe, but she was really waiting for Ron and Lavender to file past her table. She wasn't sure why she cared if they were together or not. Now that she knew she would fall in love with Draco someday, it really didn't matter to her, but still she thought they were friends, and he made fun of her today. Everyone laughed at her because of him. She was used to people making fun of her, but never one of her friends.

Harry sat beside her suddenly and said, "Alright, Hermione?"

"I'm fine, Harry," she said.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to a glass of golden liquid.

"Oh, that's apple juice. I'm saving it for last. I ask for it all the time, but I'm always given pumpkin juice, and the truth is, I don't really like pumpkin juice, so today, when I said I wished I had some apple juice to Neville, it just appeared. One of the elves must have finally realized I was a friend, not a foe," she explained with a small laugh.

"If you aren't going to drink it, maybe I could have it," he said, reaching for the full glass.

"No, I'm going to drink it." She swatted his hand away, picked up the glass, and drank the whole thing down flat. She said, "That was so good."

"Hermione, about Ron today," Harry started.

"Let's not ruin my perfect apple juice afterglow with talk of Ron, okay?" she asked.

Harry laughed and said, "Fine. May I walk you to class?"

"Of course," she said. They stood up, but she became dizzy, and placed her hand on his arm.

"Hermione?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I think I stood up too fast," she explained. They walked out of the Great Hall, the whole time with her hand on his arm. She still felt strange, but she didn't want to cause him alarm.

However, this was Harry Potter. He was always alarmed.

Outside of Potions, Cormac ran up to Hermione and said, "Hermione, did you still want me to go to Slughorn's Christmas party with you?"

Harry looked surprised. So did Hermione. She remembered she was going to ask him, but just because Ron was being a prat and she wanted to make him jealous, but she wasn't aware that she had already done so. She said, "Yes, that would be nice. Next Friday night, seven o'clock."

"Splendid," Cormac said. He reached out and squeezed her forearm.

Don was looking for Draco. He saw him as he approached the Potions lab. They stepped into an empty classroom, and Draco slumped into a chair. He barely looked up as Don told him about the letter from Ellen, Paul being at Hogwarts, about Terry and Nick. In fact, when he was done with his story, Don actually sent a stinging hex toward Draco, which made him finally look up.

"What the hell, Boot," Draco asked, rubbing his arm.

"Will you at least act like you are paying attention? By the way, you need to start going back to classes. Ellen might be here, and it will be suspicious if you keep acting like this. Remember, we have a job to do here. You aren't helping either Hermiones with your sullen, adolescent, depressed teenager bit."

"Screw you, Boot," Draco said.

Don rushed to him and actually slapped him upside the face. It knocked Draco out of his chair. Instead of apologizing, Don bent down and pulled Draco up by his robes. He shook him and said, "I mean it! I know you're worried about Hermione, but no news is good news! Now do what you came to do. Nobody forced you to come back this year, but you did, so be a man and do what is expected of you!"

Draco pushed Don's hands away and said, "And I reiterate, **Screw You**, Boot! Do you think you are saying anything that I haven't heard before? I heard the same things spouted to me many times the first time I lived through this godforsaken year! Be a man, Draco, live up to your heritage, Draco! Make your father proud! Do what is expected of you! Remember your family honour!"

Don threw up his hands in anger. He said, "I think I'm done with you. Do whatever the hell you want to do. I'm going to do the job I was sent here to do, with or without you. From now on, all you have to worry about is to get your arse back to the future by June 1st. I don't care what you do between now and then." Don stormed out of the room.

Draco leaned out of the doorway and said, "Bad, form, Professor Boot! Striking a student and using that kind of language! Very bad form indeed!" He kicked a chair and then stormed off to his afternoon Potions class.

Now that Don had just given him a dressing down about disregarding the job they were there to do, Draco had time to consider things more carefully. It was true, he wasn't even listening to Don before, but now, sitting alone in the Potion lab, waiting for class to begin, he realized what Don had told him. He told him that Ellen had contacted Terry. He told Draco that he was certain that Hermione and the baby were fine, because he hadn't had any more dreams to state otherwise.

That meant that Draco would paint on a happy face, go to his bloody classes, but no one could make him happy about it. Moreover, he wouldn't apologize to Don, at least not today.

Draco was sitting at his table in the classroom when he saw Hermione and Harry outside the door. He saw that ponce Cormac put his hand on Hermione's arm. He heard him mention Slughorn's party. At least this one variable was still taking place. Cormac was going with her to the party, but the stupid prick didn't need to touch her, did he?

**Who are you?**

Hermione sat with Harry, so when Ron came in he was forced to sit with Ernie. Slughorn told them to turn to page 384 in their text, and to start work on their assignment. Hermione stood up to get their ingredients, but she became dizzy once more. She sat down quickly. Draco wasn't the only one to notice. Harry went up to her and said, "Are you dizzy again?"

All Draco could think was, 'Again?' She stood up once more and said, "No, I'm fine."

"I'll get the ingredients," Harry said.

"No, you start the fire under the cauldron." She was already to the storeroom. She was waiting for everyone else to leave the small room, when Draco came to stand behind her.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

She turned, gave him a strange look and said, "Yes."

When the storeroom was clear, she walked in and Draco followed. She reached for an ingredient on a high shelf, but faltered and swayed a bit. Draco rushed to her, put his hand on her back and said, "What's wrong with you?"

She turned to face him quickly and said, "Don't touch me, Malfoy."

He frowned and said, "No one's in here with us. You can tell me."

"Leave me alone," she said. Harry came to the door.

"You heard her, Malfoy. Leave her be," he said. He took Hermione's hand and led her out of the storeroom. Draco stood there confused. Perhaps she knew Harry was standing there, hence her 'cold shoulder' act.

Draco got his ingredients and walked back out to the lab.

Hermione opened her book and a piece of parchment fell out. She read it. She gasped. Harry turned to look at her, and so did half the class. Harry's head bent toward hers, and Draco strained to hear what they were saying.

She showed him the piece of parchment. Draco's eyes grew wide in shock and dismay. It was the letter he wrote her, he knew it was, and for some unknown reason she was showing it to Potter. No, Hermione! Draco chanted that in his mind. No, Hermione, don't show it to the git!

Harry held the note in his hand and looked over to Draco. Then he said, "Professor, Hermione's ill. I need to take her to the Hospital Wing." Without waiting for a response from their professor, Harry and Hermione collected their books and rushed out of the door.

Draco wasn't sure what he should do. It was almost as if she really didn't remember him, which meant that letter he gave her probably confused the hell out of her. It also meant a hell of a lot of trouble from the Boy Wonder.


	18. Part XVIII

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XVIII:**

**No Future:**

Once out in the hall, Hermione read the note from Draco again. "Future husband?' she said aloud. "What is this?"

Harry grabbed the note and said, "It's Malfoy's idea of a sick joke, that's what it is."

"We don't know he even wrote it," she said.

"Stop it! Stop defending him! I'm beginning to think there really is something going on with you two!"

"Why would you say that?" she asked, shocked. She didn't wait for an answer. She started down the hall.

He followed and said, "I say that because when you were in Hospital you told me to trust you, and that if it appeared that you and Malfoy were friendly that I shouldn't be alarmed, but Hermione, if there is something really going on with you two, you have to let me know."

She whipped around on him and said, "When was I in the Hospital wing?"

Harry almost laughed, but he saw a wild, fearful look in her eyes. He said, "Hermione, what is the last thing you remember?"

She thought hard, looked at the floor, looked back at Harry and said, "Well, I, I'm not sure. I know school just started, and I recall that you just held Quidditch tryouts, but I…" and she stopped. "Why did Cormac say something about a Christmas party?" Before Harry could answer, she gasped. She ran down the dungeon's hallways, up the stairs, and right out the front doors, Harry on her tail.

A light snow was falling. She pointed toward the sky and said, "IT'S SNOWING!"

"It's December," he said back.

"NO!" she gasped. She placed her hands over her mouth. She sat on the stairs.

He picked up her book bag and then said, "I'm taking you to the Medi-witch. Come on."

She shook her head no. "Leave me alone," she said. She felt confused. In many ways, she knew time had passed. She knew it wasn't still the start of school, yet she could only remember bits and pieces of anything specific.

Harry threw both of their bags down and reached for her arm. Then he heard the front door open. It was Professor Boot.

Don looked confused. His brother Nick was with him. He looked at Harry, then Hermione, and then shook Don's hand goodbye. As he walked past the pair, he stared at Hermione. She looked up at him and gave him a queer look in return.

Don said, "Mr. Potter, what are you and Miss Granger doing out here?"

"I was taking her to the Medi-witch," Harry said.

"By the way of outside?" Don asked. He walked down the stairs and bent down to look at Hermione. "Are you okay, Hermione?"

She shook her head no. Don said, "Go back inside and go to class, Harry. I'll see to her."

"But, Professor," he started.

"She'll be fine," he said. Harry saw no reason not to trust Professor Boot, so he took both of their bags and headed back inside.

Don reached his hand down as he stood up in front of her. She placed her hand in his, stood up in front of him, and said, "What's going on here?"

He didn't know what she meant. He thought she meant Draco's recent withdrawal. He didn't know that she couldn't remember. He said, "Things are happening back at home that has Draco rather worried, but I don't want you to worry about anything. You are perfectly safe. My brother Nick came today and he shed some new light on some things."

Hermione pulled her hand from his and ran inside. Why did she care if Draco was having trouble at home? Why would Professor Boot tell her that? As she ran through the corridor, she saw Harry and Draco about to draw wands.

"I don't know what sort of sick joke you are pulling, but I swear, you won't get away with harassing her anymore. It's over, right here, right now," Harry said.

Hermione came up behind him, as did Ron, from the other direction. Soon, there were Gryffindors from various years on one side, and their Slytherin counterparts on the other.

Draco had a thought. It seemed Hermione didn't remember anything. He had an easy out. Potter thought the note was a set-up, so this was perfect. If Ellen was around, or if the person helping her was around, they wouldn't suspect anything was going on with Hermione and he if he acted like it was a cruel hoax.

Draco laughed and said, "Seriously, me and the Mudblood? How revolting." He looked back at his housemates and said, "I sent the Mudblood Princess a funny little note, proclaiming my love for her, and she must have believed it! As if I would soil myself with her!" He turned back around in time to see Hermione's hurt expression. Even though he knew that, she didn't remember him, his words were still hurting her, and for that, he felt ultimate remorse.

He went further, "Attention, everyone! Here before us is my future wife!" The Slytherins laughed. Harry actually snarled. He said, "I must remind you, Potter, once the Dark Lord comes to power, her kind won't even have a future."

"Here, Here," a Slytherin said. Draco felt his skin crawl at the thought.

Terry Boot overhead the entire exchange and he went to get his brother. Don walked between the crowd and he said, "Detention for anyone who is still in this hallway in one minute. Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, go to your classes. Miss Granger, come with me."

Harry and Draco remained, as did most of the others. Don said, "NOW!" in the loudest, most demanding voice he could. "Potter, go to your head of house. Malfoy go to yours. I will meet you both in due time." He looked at Terry and said, "Terry, take Hermione to my office, please."

Terry smiled and took Hermione's hand. She walked with him to Don's office.

**Explanations:**

Don went to McGonagall first and told her that Harry and Malfoy were fighting in the hall. She promptly assigned him detention, and took away house points. He then ran down to Snape's office, where he found the DADA Professor already explaining the fact that someone stole ingredients to make several potions, including the one that Hermione must have taken, hence her forgetfulness.

Draco looked up as he saw Don enter and he said, "How long will it last?"

"That depends on how much she took, but it's not permanent. However, we don't know how someone got it to her. If it was that easy to give it to her, then it would be just as easy to poison her or something."

Draco hadn't thought of that. He said, "I think it's just as well that she doesn't remember, but you're right, she could have just as easily been poisoned. Maybe the person who gave her the potion has nothing to do with Ellen."

Snape gave Don a strange look and then said, "You're a Potion Master in the future, correct, Draco?"

"Yes," Draco said, then he stood and added, "You don't think I gave her the potion, do you?"

"You said you think it's for the best that she forgets," Don said quickly.

Draco shook his head before he adamantly said, "NO, it wasn't me. Her note to me is strange though, and maybe somewhat telling. Could she have given it to herself?"

"What?" Don asked.

Snape said, "What note?"

Draco showed both men the note from Hermione. He said, "She says at the end that it is not our time, not yet, and she knows what she has to do. Could she have concocted the potion herself, to somehow make it so she didn't remember, so she wouldn't reveal anything, however harmless, to Ellen?"

"That seem unlikely," Don said. "Ingredients for Veritiserum were taken, too."

"But maybe she somehow gave that to me. To make sure I was who I said I was, and then when she knew she could trust me, she took the other potion."

"Merlin," Don said, "It does sound like something she would do."

"Well, make sure she doesn't take anymore. I will try to slip her the antidote as soon as I can," Snape said.

"No, let's leave it be for now, please. I think she will be safer," Draco said. "Confused perhaps, but safer."

Don slapped his forehead and said, "And I just added to the confusion. I have to go clear up some things with her now. Draco, keep on your toes, and try not to pick any more fights with Potter. I'll leave it to Snape to dole out your punishment."

Don left and Draco looked at Snape. "Am I to be punished?" he asked with a smirk.

Snape chuckled and said, "A day you get the best of Potter is a day of true happiness. No, no punishment from me."

Draco nodded, smiled, and left his godfather's office.

Don went back to his office, and Hermione wasn't there, just Terry. "Where is Hermione?"

"She went to her next class," Terry said, "But don't worry, she's fine. I told her that you had heard about the note and you were just trying to explain away Malfoy's bad behaviour to her, and that was all you meant when you told her that he was having trouble at home."

Don looked at his little brother suspiciously and said, "How do you know what I said to Hermione outside?"

"A little birdie told me," Terry smiled. Don frowned. "Fine, I was the bird. I was a raven. I wanted to see what you and Nick were up to, all right?"

"Leave it alone, Terry," Don said.

"Listen, if you are somehow doing work for the Brotherhood, I want to help. I have been a full member for a year now. I can help, I really can."

"NO!"

"Let me at least meet with this Ellen," Terry implored.

"NEVER!" Don said. Don felt so tired. He said, "Besides, Nick thinks she's not here for the reason we all believe."

"And why do you all believe she's here?" Terry asked.

"It doesn't matter; except to say that she might not be the threat after all. Go to class, Terry," Don said. He put his head on his desk and closed his eyes.

"I have Transfiguration next. Will you write me a note so McGonagall won't dock points?" his brother asked.

Don laughed and said, "I don't think so, in fact, if you aren't out of here in one minute, I'll dock the damn points myself."

Terry kicked the chair in front of his brother's desk and ran down the hall to his class. He wasn't sure why he was running, as he was already late. He stopped running and he said, "I can help them. I can. I'm not a child. I'll meet Ellen myself." Since he was already late for class, he decided not even to go. Instead, he went to write a note to this Ellen woman to tell her that he would meet with her.

**The Future:**

Holding her stomach, Hermione walked through the halls of Malfoy Manor, feeling lost and upset. Lucius had turned Harry and Nick away every time they came to visit her. He only allowed her parents to come, and only three times so far. It was as if she was being held prisoner. She was held prisoner here one other time, during the excavation of the Founder's castle, and that was one of the darkest, most depressing times of her life, and one she didn't wish to repeat.

The threat to her was real and she knew that. She also knew there was a threat to her baby, but she was a grown woman and she didn't particularly like being told what to do, especially by a man of loose scruples like Lucius Malfoy.

He also brought Don and Draco here. His leverage to keep her captive, no doubt, the stupid man. He knew she would never leave their bodies here. He did allow Nick to visit with Don, but not with her. She wasn't sure why. She understood why he wouldn't let Harry visit. He knew that Harry would try to help her leave, but she really believed that Nick would do no such thing.

She placed her fingertips on the wall and continued walking. It was December, almost Christmas, and too cold to take her daily walks outside, so she took to walking the long hallways of the Manor every morning and again every evening. However, she was never alone. Lucius had hired at least ten wizards to keep an eye on her. They were everywhere. She thought they were there to keep her from going out, more than to keep someone from coming in. They were always polite and courteous to her, but one time when she tried to slip out a backdoor, one of them was there and he pulled her back in and merely said, "No."

Well, she wasn't used to being told 'No' and it was going to stop very soon. Did they forget that she still had her wand? That was _her_ leverage.

She walked down the stairs to find Lucius standing by the door, and he was speaking to someone just outsider. She recognized the voice. It was Paul Boot. She longed to see someone, anyone, her own age. She started to sprint down the stairs, when Lucius looked up and said, "Don't run!"

"Yes, Father," she said sarcastically, coming to a halt in the middle of the stairs. Paul looked around Lucius and smiled. She added, "You wish is my command."

Lucius rolled his eyes and said, "I wasn't ordering you not to run. I was just concerned for your safety, and that of my grandchild."

"You mean my child," she said.

"Same difference," he said.

She walked up to the door, and reached under Lucius' arm and said, "Come in Paul, how rude of my esteemed Father-in-law to leave you out in the cold."

"He isn't here to see you," Lucius said.

"Well, I want to see him," she said back.

"He wants to see his brother," Lucius argued.

"Well, he may see him after he sees me!"

Narcissa walked up to the door and said to Paul, "They bicker all the time. Come in, Mr. Boot. I will take you up to your brother's room, and then you can have a nice visit with Hermione in the drawing room."

Paul followed Narcissa upstairs, and Hermione gave Lucius a self-satisfying grin and said, "He's going to visit me in the parlor."

"The drawing room, actually. There is a difference," Lucius sneered. "Of course, growing up with only a living room and a den, I'm sure you weren't aware of that point."

"When a house has seven drawing rooms, and three parlors, I don't see that it matters a whole hell of a lot what you call them. You might as well call them room one, and room two, and room three…," she said.

He put his hand over her mouth the shut her up. He removed it and said, "Why can't you just be grateful that I am protecting you and my, I mean, your child?"

She softened her countenance somewhat and said, "I am grateful, but I am also leaving. I'm well now, and I'll be safe. You can put your little men on guard duty at my house, but I want to spend Christmas there."

"Alone?" he asked.

"I won't be alone," she said softly. She started toward one of the drawing rooms.

He followed. "My son is staying here," he said.

"Fine, he's not a very lively conversationalist at the moment anyway," she said. "But I have friends and family, and I wouldn't mind for you to come over as well. Think about it, Lucius, but I am leaving here tomorrow. I've just decided."

"What if I said I've decided you aren't?" he asked.

"Then I would say don't ever bet against me," she said, plopping on one of the sofa's in one of the drawing rooms. He shut the door, leaving her alone in there to think. He went to think about some things himself. He knew he really couldn't keep her here, so he had to come up with a reason for her to stay.

Hermione punched a pillow, pretending it was Lucius' face, and said aloud, "He can't keep me here!"

Paul stood in the doorway and said, "Then let's plan your escape."


	19. Part XIX

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XIX:**

**The Night Sky:**

The night sky appeared starless. Although a faint pink and yellow hue painted the distant horizon, overhead the endless sky was a deep cerulean blue, ending at a deep indigo. Hermione turned to look in the opposite direction, and she finally spotted one star, which alone stood brightly in the sky. She thought about how that star was undoubtedly already burned out by the time the light hit the earth. She felt that same distance from everything and everyone. Not just from that star up in the sky, but from everyone and everything she loved, especially from her husband, Draco. She missed him. She had an ache deep inside that he alone could feel. Her loneliness was as endless as the light from that lone star.

She didn't know why things were happening as they were, but as she saw it, she had two options. She could let things play out and remain watching silently from the sidelines, or she could join in on the action and take a portion of control in her life. She knew she would do the latter. She also knew she needed to get out of this house, or she would shrivel and die here. She huddled in the cold, a heavy shawl around her body, and she leaned over the balcony to see if she could make out anything else in the sky.

She expected a black spot to appear any moment. Paul told her he would appear as a raven to her tonight, and together they would escape.

She felt silly…planning her escape. Nevertheless, she also felt oppressed in this house. She wasn't sure, but she felt she might be at more danger here, not from the threat of the unknown, but from the knowledge of the past. Bad memories had resurfaced the moment she arrived, and they were pressing on her heart and making her weaker. She wondered if that was Ellen's plan from the beginning: separate her and Draco, and cause her to fall into a deep, endless depression.

Her only thought was to protect her daughter, and to make sure that her former self did nothing to upset the equilibrium that she knew Draco was undoubtedly shaking up enough himself. Nick had taught her an exercise consisting of even breathing, and deep meditation, along with an incantation, where she could almost communicate with her past self. She could plant suggestions in her former mind. Nick had been doing the same with Don, while he slept at night, since they left, and she was now doing it with herself. Nick told her never to reveal too much. So tonight, this almost starless, black night, she sat outside, in the cold, and sat down on a chair, shut her eyes, and said the incantation.

She needed to get a message to Draco, and Hermione of the past was the only one who could do it. She wanted to tell him that she was fine, and that she loved him.

Maybe he already knew it. Maybe he no longer cared. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference. Maybe it was a vague folly, but it was something she needed, as much as she needed to breathe in and out, and as much as she needed her arms and legs.

She needed Draco to know that she loved him, and she needed him.

If she could bring him home, she would.

While she was in her deep, meditated state, she was no longer watching the sky for a dark bird. That was her first mistake. Her second mistake was being out on the balcony in the first place. Moreover, her third mistake, was underestimating Lucius Malfoy's need to protect his son and his son's family.

She awoke from her state with a hand over her mouth, as a person standing behind her pressing a wand against her expanding belly. The person removed their hand and Hermione said, "Please don't hurt my baby."

The person jerked her up from the bench she was sitting and pulled her back through the balcony doors. She still could not see her subjugator, as her pulse raced wildly, her breathing rapid, and her eyes starting to fill with tears.

As she was whipped around, to face the room, she saw Lucius Malfoy by the bed. She took the opportunity to look over her shoulder to see the face of the man who held her. It was Nick Boot.

She pushed away from him and he placed one finger to his mouth, in a mimed action to tell her to be quiet, then he pointed toward the still opened balcony doors. She looked back at Lucius, who now hid in a corner of her dark room, as Nick went to another corner.

She was about to ask them what was going on when the sound of a beak rapping on her balcony door made her turn around.

Before her eyes, Paul changed back and stood outside the threshold. He said, "We don't have much time, Hermione. I was able to disable the wards, but only for a moment. I will have to disapparate with you, but you'll be safe.

Her mind was spinning. Why were Nick and Lucius hiding in her room, in the shadows? Did Paul know they were there?

"I think I've changed my mind," she said. She hoped that was what she was supposed to say. She couldn't remember a time when she was more confused. Who was her enemy, who was her friend?

"No, you can't change your mind now. Don't you see? If Draco and Don never come back, which I warned you might happen, Lucius will take your child from you," he said.

"He would never do that," she said.

"You think not? He's holding you captive here for that very reason. As soon as she's born, he'll find a way to be rid of you. If his son is left in the past, he will never let her go. She will be his only heir. Don't be a fool. We need to leave now!"

"I don't want to go," she repeated, and at that moment, she didn't.

"I told you, Harry Potter is in complete agreement. He would have told you so, but Lucius won't let him near you. He won't let Nick come any longer, and I doubt he will continue to let me come. Soon, you will be isolated and alone here and totally at his mercy. What he was saying made some sense to her. It sounded like something Lucius would do. It was true she would never totally trust him.

She wasn't sure if she was to keep talking to him, to draw him out, or was she to go with him, or should she dispute his claims. She wished Nick and Lucius would show themselves. She knew they must want him to reveal his plans further. She could help do that.

"Where are we to go? I'm pretty recognizable, and pretty pregnant, seven months to be exact," she said.

"I have a place ready for you," he said.

"Wouldn't that be like going from one prison to another?" she asked. "No, I'll only go with you if you take me to my parent's house. I want to go there."

"I can't protect you there," he said.

She took a step backwards. She saw Nick move closer out of the corner of her eye. He was nodding slowly to her. She knew that he wanted her to draw Paul into the room. However, something inside her told her that Paul was not her enemy. She knew that one other time she trusted him, and he turned against her, but that was not of his own doing. Perhaps this wasn't either.

She said, "Go away, Paul. I'm staying here."

Nick was on the other side of the opened door now, literally beside his brother, separated only by a door of glass and lace curtains. Paul took a step in to the room. He held out his hand. "Hermione, I thought you wanted to get out of here."

Hermione didn't know what to do.

**The Night Sky, Part II:**

Hermione was walking along the school grounds with Neville and Seamus. Harry had a lesson with Dumbledore, and Ron was with Lavender. She still had some memory loss, but things were beginning to come back to her. She kept Draco's letter on her at all times. She wasn't sure why, but she did.

He barely looked at her in class. When he passed her in the hallway he would either ignore her, or say something scathing to her. Yet, she didn't think this letter was a lie. She didn't know what it was.

"Hermione, can you help me find the fern I need?' Neville ask. He was down on all fours, his wand on the ground, but lit. Hermione came over, lit her wand, and started to help him look.

Seamus walked up to them and said, "Look how pretty the sky looks. It's so dark it's almost purple." Hermione looked up.

Seamus looked back to Neville and said, "Hurry up, Longbottom! It's colder than an Eskimo's icicle out here."

Hermione looked back and him and laughed. "What?" she asked.

Seamus laughed and said, "It's colder than a penguin's backside."

"That doesn't make sense," she said.

Neville continued to look for his fern, leaving the other two to their stupid conversation.

"It's colder than a polar bear's balls," Seamus added.

"You should at least make it witty if you are going to make comparisons," Hermione said.

"You try it, Hermione, if you're so smart," Seamus said with a grin, his arms tightly around him to ward off the cold.

"It's colder than a…" but that was all she got out. She saw a movement behind Seamus. She froze. He frowned and looked over his shoulder, then turned and backed into her, accidentally pushing her to the ground.

"Where's Neville?" she asked from the ground.

Seamus backed up beside her and held out his hand to help her up. "Come on, Hermione, we have to get out of here."

She stood up but said, "Not without Neville!"

Then, the black panther jumped at them. Seamus held out his arm, and the great cat chomped down on his arm. He screamed. Hermione took her wand and sent a stunning hex at the cat. It did nothing. Neville came running and he said, "I heard screaming."

The cat had knocked Seamus to the ground, and was standing on him with its front paws on his chest. It locked eyes with Hermione. She froze, and not due to the cold.

Then she remembered.

The cat from the forest. When she was with Draco doing detention. She remembered! Neville took Hermione's sleeve and pulled her closer to him. The cat looked from Hermione to Neville and then leaving an injury Seamus, it pounced toward them.

Hermione ducked, putting her hands over her face. Neville was not so lucky. The great cat began to maul him and bite him.

She began to scream. Her screams mixed with those of Neville's, and broke through the night sky.

Far off in the distance, a raven heard her scream. The raven flew down to the earth, and quickly turned to a brown wolf. The wolf ran toward the scream.

Now with both Neville and Seamus on the ground injured, if not dead, the evil creature stalked its new claim. Hermione looked directly in its eyes. She pointed her wand at the cat again, her hand shaking. The cat leaped and soon her wand arm was in the cat's jaws.

She felt searing pain as the large pointed incisors tore through the thick material of her coat, her sweater, and her shirt, and punctured her skin.

She pulled at her arm, dropping her wand. She tried to blind the cat with her other hand. The cat knocked her down, and while on her back, the cat let go of her hand. Hermione rolled to her side, and the cat bit her shoulder and then took her arm again in her mouth and started to pull her away. She continued to scream. Seamus tried to get up to help her; Neville too injured to move.

A larger, grey wolf soon joined the brown wolf. Also running toward them was Draco Malfoy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Draco and Don had been on the tower, watching Hermione and her friends below. Don felt that she was relatively safe, since Nick was watching overhead as a raven. He also pointed out to Draco that she was with two of her friends.

Draco pointed out that most of her friends were incompetent.

Then, they saw one of her friends knocked to the ground. It was so dark, they couldn't tell why. However, they knew it was bad when Hermione's scream broke through the dark, night sky.

The brown wolf was already on the back of the large black cat. The cat growled, let go of Hermione's arm, and threw the small wolf off its back. The grey wolf ran toward the fray, and jumped on the back of the cat and soon both wolves worked in tandem to bring down the cat.

It wasn't enough. Soon, a small wolf came from nowhere and joined the fight. Draco had just reached Hermione, who was on her side, holding her injured arm. He stroked her hair. She looked up at him. She wanted to tell him that she remembered, but she didn't. Instead, she said, "Go check my friends."

Draco nodded and went toward Neville. That was when a fourth wolf appeared. Draco felt its presence by the fact that the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

He turned to see if it to was fighting with the pack. It wasn't. It was circling Hermione. He had seen this wolf before. He knew the brown wolf was Nick. The larger wolf was Don. He could only assume the small one might be Terry. The slighter, grey wolf, with an almost blue tinge to its fur, was Paul. Instead of helping his brothers, he was circling Hermione.

Draco thought at first that he must have been protecting her, so he bent down to help Seamus to stand. Seamus held his arm and went to Neville with Draco.

The sound of growls and gnarls was interrupted by a new scream from Hermione.

The other wolf, Paul, had her injured arm in his mouth, and he was pulling with all his might. He was trying to get her into the forest.

Draco took out his wand to stun the wolf, when suddenly the wolf looked in Draco's eyes. It let go of Hermione's arm and howled a most miserable, long, mournful howl.

This caused the other three to stop their fight. The cat ran off, injured. The other wolves ran to the one howling, but then it too ran away.

Hermione sobbed in fear and pain. Before Draco could reach her, Don Boot was there and he lifted her in his arms. Terry helped Seamus, and Nick and Draco carried Neville.

From there, it was a long night. The three Boot brothers talked outside the Hospital Wing, heads bent together, in hushed tones. They were obviously concerned for the actions of their brother. Don also had to tell Terry all that they knew, short of his own fate in the future.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were in the Hospital, checking on their friends.

Draco was alone, in this dormitory, because he couldn't risk being seen by anyone. He couldn't appear to be concerned for the Gryffindors. He couldn't openly care for them. He also could not protect her, as it was becoming clear. He was a failure.

His mind wandered back to other times he had failed to protect her. He wasn't sure why it surprised him that he had failed her once more.

_Remembering (Flashback to FPI):_

_Draco had been crying for so long that he had no more tears in him. He was lying by the doorway of the little cell where she was dead on the floor. He couldn't even reach her body, to hold her one last time. He tried to leave the anti-chamber once, to find that he could not leave. He told no one he was coming here. _

_It didn't matter. He didn't want to live without her. Was this the way she felt when she thought he had died? If it was, than he felt even more remorse than he did before, for making her go through such anguish and pain. He turned to look at her once more. She hadn't moved a muscle since he entered the space. He had not seen her chest rise or fall once. She was dead. That bastard killed her. He started rocking back and forth, and tears, which he thought had long since dried, started flowing again._

"_Granger! Please, please, come back to me. I love you, don't be dead. Why are you dead?" He continued crying and calling her name._

_Hermione didn't know if she could abide one more second of his tears. If a person's heart could break, her heart had shattered in a million pieces. She tried to communicate with him with her mind, but he was too anguished to be open to listening. She would continue. If only he would quiet down, and calm down, she was certain she could make him hear her. Hermione knew their connection was strong. Please listen, Draco._

_Many hours had passed. He finally fell asleep. She could hear the even sounds of his breathing. She had to try now. She had to communicate with him somehow. She thought of him, and nothing but him. She pictured his face, his voice, his body. She thought of the moment she knew she loved him. She thought about their first kiss. She concentrated intently on the first time they made loved. She was ready. She was ready to communicate to him. She told him, in her mind, that she was not gone. She was alive. Please, try to listen. _

_She was becoming exhausted, with her thoughts as her only company. She just couldn't do it. She couldn't make him hear her. She was crying inside. She was also dying inside. _

_Draco awoke and for a moment forgot where he was. He had been dreaming. He dreamt of the first time he knew he loved her. He dreamt of their first kiss, and then of the first time they made love. In his dreams, she was not dead. In his dreams she told him that she was still alive. Looking over at her now, at her dead body on the cold stone floor, his dreams turned to dust and he was once more faced with a harsh reality. While he was sleeping he actually dreamt that she was communicating with him. Now that he was awake, he knew that was impossible. _

_He thought of her. He tried to narrow his thoughts to only her. If he could just let her know, one last time, how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. Even if she was no longer there in body, if he could just reach her mind, her spirit, or her soul, and just tell her the one thing he wanted the most for her to know, he could die content. He closed his eyes and thought this one thought over and over and over. 'I love you, I love you.'_

_He sat back against the wall, no longer looking at her body. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on that single thought once more. It gave him some comfort. Maybe somehow, she would hear him and know what her living meant to him. How much she changed his life. How her love changed him for the better. He spoke to her in his mind, and from his heart, as if she could really hear._

'_I love you, Granger. You were the best thing in my life. If I die in here, at least I die with you, and with the knowledge of what your living meant to me. You were everything to me, my light, my saviour, my future, my past and my whole life. Please, hear me. I will love you forever, and when my life passes from this world to the next, one thing will remain, one thing will be constant, and that's my love for you.'_

_He finished his thoughts, but kept his eyes shut. He had his wand, and he contemplated taking his own life. His wand was of no other use to him. He had already tried and exhausted every spell he knew to try to get to her, or to try to get out of the room. Now, maybe his wand at least could reunite them in death._

_He took out his wand, and held it in his fingers. Suddenly, he heard a small voice, somewhere deep in his soul, and it said, 'I love you too, please, hear me. I'm right here. I'm not dead. Please, hear me.'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Draco couldn't stay in the dungeons any longer. He rushed from his room to what he assumed was the empty common room. He started out the door, when he felt someone pull on his arm. He turned to find Blaise Zabini. Blaise said, "Stay here Draco. She's fine. Don't reveal anything to anyone."

Draco jerked his arm from Blaise's hand and said, "What are you rattling on about, Zabini."

"Only know this, suspicions that all is not as it seems remain, and you need to show caution. She doesn't remember you right now anyway, so leave well enough alone. Do the job you were meant to do."

"You know nothing about my job," Draco shouted, assuming he meant the task the Dark Lord gave him.

Imagine his surprise when Blaise said, "You can't protect her if you aren't careful. Just think about it. I'll go and find out if she's okay."

Draco was more confused than ever. Was Blaise helping him? What did he know? He sat down on one of the couches and closed his eyes.

**Night Sky III:**

Draco went back up to the tower. He could do nothing for Hermione or for the others without revealing too much. He was concerned about Blaise. The truth was that Blaise was never really on the side of the Dark Lord, even during school. Could this Blaise be the future Blaise, here to help? Why would he? Draco hadn't seen him in years.

The sound of footsteps on the stone stairwell alerted Draco that someone approached. He pulled out his wand, and let the darkness of the night hide him, as he pressed his body against the wall.

Snape walked through the archway and Draco lowered his wand.

"How is she?" Draco asked, hoping that was why he was there.

"She is injured very badly, but not as badly was Longbottom. They are sending him to St. Mungo's," Snape replied.

"I think Blaise Zabini knows why I'm here," Draco said.

"Why would you think that?" Snape asked.

"He told me to be careful, to not reveal anything, and to do the task I was meant to do," Draco recounted.

Snape said, "He might just mean the task set forth by the Dark Lord. You told them all about it on the train, remember?"

"I don't think he meant that. I think he meant my task concerning Hermione," Draco declared.

Snape paced in front of him and said, "Then use the powers I've taught you. Use Occlumency and Legilimency. Try to find out what he knows, but by all means, block your own thoughts. No one must know what the Dark Lord has set before you or your plans for Miss Granger. It is imperative that you not let your task be discovered by anyone." Snape looked up at the dark sky and said, "I wish though, that you would trust me with what you were meant to do."

"I've trusted you enough to tell you about Hermione. I can't tell you the other thing, the task for the Dark Lord, because that might reveal you fate," Draco said.

Snape turned and said, "I could easily use Legilimency against you myself, and find out, but I won't."

"Thank you, Godfather," Draco said.

"Professor Boot wanted to see you," Snape said. He turned on his heels and rushed down the stairs.

Draco looked up at the dark sky of the night, and said, "If it's the last thing I do, I will fulfill my whole reason for being here. I promise that on Hermione Granger's life. Help me, please." He made the request to no one in particular. It was merely a vow he said aloud. He turned and walked down the stairs.

Harry Potter threw off his invisibility cloak and made his own vow. He would stop Draco Malfoy from killing his friend, even if he had to kill Draco to do so.

(_A/N: Thanks to my extremely busy beta, oliverwoodgirl, who keeps this story flowing, and who is extremely busy, but still manages to get my stuff back to me super quick, and who helps me remember things in the story when I forget. I appreciate her, and my beta justlooney for "A Second Chance" and eli84 for "A Feeling Unknown"! Thanks!)_


	20. Part XX

All characters belong to JKR

**Part XX:**

**In Hermione's Room:**

Hermione stood in the doorway of her balcony with Paul on one side of the door, the outside his backdrop, and Nick on the other side of the door, the dark room his mask. She knew she might very well regret the next words that came from her mouth, but she was still going to say them.

"Run, Paul!"

Nick looked anguished, rushed to her side, his wand pointing at his brother and he said, "NO!"

Lucius ran from the shadows to Hermione's other side. Paul looked at Hermione, then to Nick and he turned and ran. He jumped up the balcony wall, and then in a blink of an eye, he became a raven, flew away, and blended into the dark, night sky.

Nick grasped her hand and begged, "Why, Hermione? Why?"

She turned to him as Lucius turned on the lights. She demanded, "No, you get no answers from me until you answer my questions first! What do you know that I don't know?"

Nick shut the doors to the outside and sank down in a chair. He explained, "Paul may be working with Ellen, and not completely of his freewill. It may be like it was before, when he was under the Imperius Curse by my mother."

Lucius turned her to face him and said, "Or he may be working for his own agenda, which I would not put past him. He has long made his feelings for you clear, and he would benefit greatly if my son was permanently out of the way. Perhaps he's pretending to work with his sister, when he is really working for himself. He wants you for his own."

She scoffed at that and said, "That's not true!" She turned to Nick and said, "Tell me that's not true!"

"I can't lie to you," Nick said. "He guards against my intrusions, so I really don't know what he thinks any longer, but either theory could stand as truth, Hermione."

Harry Potter removed his invisibility cloak and let it drop to the floor. Hermione wasn't even surprised he was there. He said, "One thing is certain, we'll never know for sure what his reasons are now, thanks to Hermione."

She walked up to him and pushed him as hard as she could. In fact, he fell on the bed. Lucius snickered. She said, "How dare you blame me! If you had all told me of your suspicions, and your little plan, perhaps I could have helped instead of sabotaging your efforts! Don't blame me! If you hadn't kept me in the dark, I could have been of tremendous help. I've helped you a lot over the years, you know, you stupid arse!" He stood back up. She leaned over, by grasping his arm, picked up the invisibility cloak and threw it over his head, before she pushed him back down on the bed. Then she walked over, pushed Nick back in the chair from where he just stood, and as she headed toward the door, she looked at Lucius, and he took it upon himself to sit down on a loveseat near the door.

She turned toward the room and said, "That's what I thought!"

An hour later, Hermione was sitting at the white grand piano in the music room, hitting a single note, repeatedly. B flat. She kept hitting the B flat. She knew how to play piano, but she didn't want to play. She only wanted something to take her mind off her troubles. B flat, B flat, B flat. Harry walked into the room and said, "It has a nice melody, but I can't dance to it."

She giggled. Then she smiled and said, "You can't dance anyway."

He sat beside her on the bench, the opposite direction and said, "The Aurors and I found trace magic in the cell at Azkaban where Ellen was housed. Using a new technique similar to Muggle forensic investigation, we found a magic fingerprint. The last know spell used in that room was an Imperius curse. We don't have her wand, or Paul's, so we can't find out whose wand cast the spell."

"Perhaps she used it on the men who helped her escape," she said.

"Perhaps she used it on Paul," he theorized.

"Or what you really think is that perhaps he used it on her. Perhaps this is all a ruse to get Draco and Don out of the way, so Paul can finally have me for his own?" she said.

He nodded.

She openly laughed. "Paul Boot is not in love with me! Besides, what about the threats to my current life? If he loved me, why would he want to kill me? Also, he was the one that was originally going back to the past with Don, not Draco."

Harry shrugged. He knew she made a point, but he wasn't convinced. He sighed and said, "You're wrong on one point. He does love you."

"He fancied that he did long ago, but he doesn't now," she assessed. She hoped she was right on that assumption, but she knew in her heart that Harry was right this time. She asked, "Harry, why would Paul want to send Ellen back in time? He could have just figured out a way to kill Draco, make it look like an accident, and he could have ingratiated himself to me in my state of mourning and pain."

"That's bothered me. Perhaps they are working together, but independently. I wish I knew the answers. I really do." He stood up and then took her hand. He swirled her on the bench and said, "I do know one thing. You are really getting large, and you are also ready to go home."

"I've been really pregnant, your great oaf, and I've been ready to go home for weeks," she said. "But Lucius won't let me leave. He thinks it's not safe. I'm surprised he even let you come here, tonight."

He cleared his throat and proclaimed, "That was my doing, not his. If I tell you the truth, don't knock me down again." He held up his hands in surrender. He continued, "I had to prepare your home, to make it safe for you, after the attack at Diagon Alley. Lucius kept you here until that was done, at my insistence. Your home is now the safest place in all of Great Britain, probably even safer than the Ministry."

She regarded him for a moment and then said, "No place is impenetrable. Paul was able to lower the wards here at the Manor. He could still get me at our house."

Lucius walked in and said, "Nick Boot went home to tell his father about Paul, and by the way, _daughter_, I lowered the wands for Mr. Boot tonight. My house is safe, and that's why Mr. Potter decided you should stay here until we could make yours just as safe." He walked up to her and said, "After all, I have to make sure my family is untouched. Draco and Don are being taken to your house as we speak. You and my granddaughter need some peace and relaxation. I know you haven't been able to find it here, no matter how hard I tried to make it pleasant for you. I hope you find some peace at your own home. You know, you really need to give it a name."

"The baby?" she asked.

He laughed and said, "The house."

"Oh, because the baby has a name," she said. Harry looked at Lucius, who looked back to Hermione. "It's named after one of my dearest and oldest friends and also after a constellation."

"Please tell me it isn't Harriet Polaris," Lucius spat with as much disdain as he could. Even Harry laughed at that. He looked at Harry and said, "No offense, and my son liked the name Polaris."

"No, it's Hydra. Hydra Terran Granger Malfoy," she stated. Then she walked up to Lucius and said, "This place wasn't that much of a prison. It just wasn't my home."

"Then you should go home," he said.

"My house won't even feel like home until Draco's back, but still, I do want to go back to my own house. I'm sorry if I seemed ungrateful, or spoiled."

"You were very ungrateful and extremely spoiled, and it warmed my heart to no end. You act so much like Draco sometimes, it's scary," Lucius said. Harry laughed again and then held out his arm to Hermione. Lucius walked with them to the front door. "All your things are already there, Hermione. You will permit my wife and me to continue to visit you and our son, won't you?"

She nodded, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, _father_." She tried to say it as graciously as she could, then she turned toward Harry and said, "I want to go home."

**Home:**

Hermione spent the next thirty minutes reacquainting herself with her belongings. It felt as if she had been gone forever. She went up to the baby's nursery and sat in her grandmother's rocking chair. She sat and rocked until well after midnight. Then she went to the room where Draco was and opened the door. She looked at him and said, "I love you."

She walked over to her bathroom. She knew Harry was still in the house somewhere, but she still kept the door slightly ajar. She turned on the cold faucet and then the hot. She slipped off her clothes and wearily she got in the shower.

She let the hot water pound on her breasts and stomach. She placed her hands flat on the cold tiles in front of her as the water rained over her tired body. Then the tears fell as surely as the water from the shower, speckling her face along with the drops of water.

She shut her eyes and concentrated on Draco. She tried to remember the way Nick taught her to communicate with him. So far, she had only been able to send messages to her former self. She had not yet been able to send a message to Draco. She knew that Nick could communicate with Don, but he was a powerful psychic. Still, the love Hermione and Draco shared must be as strong of a tie as that of brothers, even if one was a medium. "Please, I need you, Draco." She lifted her face to the water and said the incantation. Then she said, "Receive me, believe me, release me, see me, feel me, love me." She uttered these and other words after she said the incantation.

She heard the shower curtain move, as the hooks scraped along the rod. She didn't open her eyes, but she knew she was experiencing something more than just a dream, or an illusion, still, if she opened her eyes, it might not be true.

She felt someone step in behind her, and then she felt a hand go around her large stomach. Another hand came up and brushed one of her breasts as it journeyed up to her neck. It felt like him, help her, if did. She still wouldn't open her eyes. Even as she felt kisses on the side of her neck.

"Why are you crying?" Draco asked.

"Because I miss you," she said.

"I miss you too, but I'm not crying," he said. He kissed her neck again. He tried to turn her around, but she almost crumbled in his arms. He held her tight. He said, "Turn around and look at me."

"You aren't really here."

"If I wasn't here, could I do this?" He tilted her head back and sought her mouth for one of the deepest, most erotic, sensual, heartfelt kisses they had ever shared. It did feel real. It did. "I miss you, Hermione."

She let him turn her in his arms. She opened her eyes, and even through the haze of tears, steam and water, she saw him, as if he was really sharing her shower. "I've missed you so much," she agreed.

"I'm right here, right now. I don't know how, but I am. I was sleeping soundly, even dreaming of something else, and then I was pulled here. What type of witchcraft is this, Granger, because it's bloody fantastic," he laughed. He put a hand on each cheek and kissed her mouth again, reassuring her.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Don't spend one moment worrying about me," he said. "It's a piece of cake, the past. Once you've done something once, it's easy to do it again. The question is how you and the baby are?"

"Her name is Hydra," she suddenly exclaimed.

"When was that decided?" he asked, stroking her back and kissing her again.

"You won't be home for her birth, so I decided to name her. It's a constellation, you know. Her middle name is Terran, after Terry Boot. Your father seemed to like it," she added.

"Well then it must be okay," he said. "At least you didn't name her after someone stupid like after Harry Potter."

She smiled, remembering what Lucius said and asked, "You mean like, Harriet? That was the runner up name."

"Yuck," he said. He pulled her to him again and said, "You feel so real, not at all like a dream. If this is a dream, I'm not sure I ever want to wake up."

"Make love to me, then. If this is a dream, we should be able to do whatever we want," she commented.

They made love. It was glorious, and so real. She had never wanted her husband more. After they were finished, they stood in the spray of the water and he said, "I hope I get to see you like this again soon."

"Naked and in the shower?" she asked.

"Or naked and in the bed. Anyway. This was what I needed. I needed to be assured that you were okay. I am now. I can do what I have to do."

"What is that?" she asked.

"I have to go. Please, do try to make this happen again, though. I needed to see you, and I'll need to see you again, and hopeful it won't just be in my dreams."

She nodded. "I'll try to make it happen again," she reassured him. She turned back toward the shower. He kept his arms around her for only a moment, kissed her cheek, and then he stepped out of the shower.

A few moments later, Harry Potter walked past her open bathroom door. She had been in there for such a long time that he was becoming worried for her. When he heard her start to cry again, he stepped in the bathroom.

He held out a towel, and shut his eyes. He opened the curtain. This time, when she heard the sounds of the curtain moving over the rod, she knew it wasn't Draco. She saw Harry's hand come in the shower, turn off the hot water, and then the cold. He opened the curtain the rest of the way and held up the towel. Eyes still closed he said, "Take the towel Hermione. You've been in there long enough."

She stepped out of the shower, taking his offered towel. She dried off and then wrapped the towel around her. She took Harry's hand and said, "Open your eyes." He opened his eyes and saw that hers were red and bloodshot. "Will you stay with me tonight? Would Ginny mind?"

He smiled and led her to her room.

Harry held her after she climbed into her bed. He whispered, "It'll be alright, Hermione. Draco will come home."

"For the first time, I believe you, Harry," she said back.

**Hogwarts:**

Draco woke up with a start. He had just had one of the most erotic, but real dreams he had ever had in his life, only it wasn't a dream. He knew it was real. He had communicated with Hermione on some psychic plane and it was glorious. It reaffirmed why he was there. She was bigger than he remembered, but she still didn't look anywhere near seven months pregnant. They had made love. She was in their home. She was okay. Their baby was okay. He could do this now. He could finish what he started. He would keep her safe.

He dressed and walked out of his room. He crept across the common room. Blaise Zabini was sleeping on the couch, no doubt guarding that Draco didn't leave. He would have to find out what Zabini's agenda was later, because at the moment it didn't really concern him. He knew he didn't mean them any harm. As it was, Blaise had gone up to the Hospital Wing earlier and had told him that Hermione was staying overnight, Seamus was back in the dorms, and Neville was transferred to St. Mungo's.

He walked all the way up to the Hospital Wing. He saw Don Boot sleeping soundly outside in the hall. He opened the door and saw Nick Boot on a bed, the bed beside Hermione's bed, reading. Nick stood up and walked over to Draco. He said, "I don't suppose we know each other, not really, not in this place and time, but I want you to know that I'll help you and Don protect Hermione. I will."

"Thank you."

"I'll go outside for a moment, and leave you two in peace," he said. He turned to leave but Draco called him back.

"You're a medium," Draco acknowledged. It wasn't a question, because it was a fact that both men were already aware of, but it was the only way Draco knew to start the question he was about to ask. Nick waited. "I had what might have been a dream, but it felt real. I just communicated with Hermione, my Hermione, while I slept, and it felt so real, but she's not a psychic, so how could that be?"

"My brother tells me that she is incredibly intuitive, but not really a believer. I find people like that usually are the best mediums of all. If it felt real, it was. What did she tell you? Did she tell you anything of what was happening in your time?" Nick inquired.

"No, mainly she just told me she loved me," Draco said with a slight smile. It was more than that, but no one needed to know the wonderful details. Nick smiled in return and patted his arm and left.

Draco walked up to the bed. Hermione was asleep and lying on her side. This young girl didn't look so different from the Hermione he had just left in their shower. He leaned over her and said in hushed tones, "I'm not sure why you suddenly don't remember me, if it was you who stole the ingredients to make the potion so that you wouldn't remember, or if someone gave it to you, but I think it's for the best that you don't remember me. I think I can protect you better, and I will Hermione - I love you and I'll protect you with my life."

He leaned over her sleeping body and pushed her hair away from her face. He kissed her shoulder. He said, "Sweet dreams, little one. Oh, by the way, you decided to name our daughter Hydra. I think that's a wonderful name, even better than Polaris. I love you both so much. Goodnight." He touched her face, leaned over her one last time, but resisted the urge to kiss her again. He smiled instead. He stood up and walked out of the Hospital wing, with a renewed hope.

Hermione opened her eyes, and turned to look at the doors as they shut. She said one word. "Hydra." She liked that name. It was not only a constellation, but it was from Greek Mythology, too. Just like both of their names. Before she could ponder it any more, Nick Boot walked back in and she had to pretend to be asleep again.


	21. Part XXI

**Part XXI: Christmas**

**Breakfast:**

"That's not what I'm saying, Ron!" Hermione complained as she reached across the table for the jam.

"That's what it sounds like to me," he said back.

Ginny sat next to Harry and asked, "What are they arguing about now?"

"Who knows?" Harry answered. He was tired of his two best friends being at odds. He was tired of all the intrigue with Malfoy this year. He was tired of Dumbledore's cryptic lessons. He was supposed to get a memory from Slughorn, and he had no idea how to do it. He watched as Hermione and Ron continued to bicker, finally realizing it was about Cormac and Lavender, and he said, "Enough!"

They both looked at him. He stated, "Ron, just shut up! You were not invited to the party, and when Hermione was going to invite you, you were mean to her, so you can't go! Hermione, you don't even care about Lavender, not really, so why bother arguing?" He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said. She patted his shoulder. Draco entered the hall but made a point not to look at the Gryffindor table. He was with Blaise Zabini. Harry watched as Hermione watched the pair of Slytherins.

He pulled on her sleeve. She turned to him and asked, "What?"

He merely shook his head. "Does anyone know how Neville is doing?" Seamus asked.

"McGonagall said that he will probably be in St. Mungos throughout Christmas," Hermione answered.

Harry thought about Neville's parents, and the fact that they spent every Christmas at St. Mungos; it made him sad for the other boy. He said, "We'll have to make a point to go visit him."

Hermione suddenly looked down and said, "I'm not going to the Burrow for Christmas now, but be sure to give Neville my love."

Ginny leaned toward her and harped, "Just because my brother's a git doesn't mean you can't spend Christmas with the rest of us."

With a mouth full of food Ron exclaimed, "Hey, I'm right here!"

"No, it's just that I already told my parents I wanted to go skiing with them," she lied. Her parents were going skiing, but she was planning to stay at Hogwarts. She wasn't sure why, but she thought she might want to spend some time with Draco. She had already remembered everything from before. She didn't know why she had forgotten, but only Harry knew that she had lost her memory, besides Draco, so for the time being she was going to keep everyone in the dark. Essentially, she still couldn't remember anything, at least if anyone asked.

Harry looked at her closely and said, "Are you sure?"

"They're my parents," she said back. She hated lying to Harry, but sometimes the less Harry knew the better. Hermione stood up and left to go to Transfiguration class.

Harry leaned forward and said, "Ron, she's not going because you've been such a prat. You need to apologize to her."

"Oh, let her go get her apologies from her new little boyfriend," Ron spat.

Ginny kicked him under the table. "OW!" he shouted, rubbing his leg.

"You know she only invited Cormac to make you jealous!" Ginny explained.

"I was talking about Malfoy," Ron said. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Seamus all turned to look at the Slytherin table. Draco gave them a rude hand gesture.

"Why do you suppose half of the Gryffindor table is looking our way, Malfoy?" Blaise asked.

Draco shrugged.

"Malfoy!" Blaise snapped his finger to get the other boy's attention. Draco looked at him. "What's going on?"

"I wouldn't begin to know," Draco said, while looking at Hermione's empty seat.

Harry leaned forward and said to his friends, "I happen to know that Malfoy's been playing her. He has a mission this year, from the Dark Lord…"

Before he could continue Ron said, "We all know about your theories, Harry."

"Shut up and listen," Harry said, irritated. "I think his mission has to do with Hermione. I heard him talking to Snape. He mentioned her by name. He said he would do anything to fulfill his mission. We need to convince her to come with us to the Burrow."

Ron looked back over at Malfoy and then toward his friends and said, "If that bastard hurts her I'll kill him."

Harry nodded and said, "He sent her some type of note, that made it sound like he liked her, but it's a ploy."

"Bastard," Seamus concurred.

Ginny kicked Ron under the table again. "WHAT WAS THAT ONE FOR?" he cried.

"You apologize to her right now and make her come with us for the holiday!" Ginny gripped.

"I swear, you get more and more like Mum every year," Ron said, standing up. He was going to go find Hermione when Lavender walked up to him and held on to his arm.

"Won – Won," she said. Everyone at the table snickered. "Since you won't be at the little Christmas party of Slughorn's tonight, maybe you and I could go on a nice romantic date."

Ginny rolled her eyes, Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing, and Seamus just openly laughed. Ron said, "Not right now, I need to find Hermione."

Lavender stomped her foot as Ron got up and ran out of the Great Hall. He went to their first class and found Hermione sitting alone, writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Hermione?"

She looked up. "Hi, Ron," she said softly.

"I hate it when we fight," he said.

"Me, too."

"Listen, come to the Burrow. Christmas won't be the same without you," he said.

"Ron, this might be the last Christmas I get to spend with my folks," she said. When she said the lie, she didn't even think about it, but after the words were spoken, she knew that it might be true. Maybe she really should go home for Christmas.

Ron sat next to her and pulled the piece of parchment over toward him. He said, "What's this?"

"It's a list of names," she said.

He started to read them aloud. "Vega, Adhara, Gemma, Aquilla, Hydra, Carina. What are these?"

Draco Malfoy walked in the room and said, "A list of constellations, you brainless dolt."

Hermione and Ron both gave him dirty looks. Draco was suspicious, especially since the name 'Hydra' was on the list. Did she hear him last weekend, when he visited her in the Hospital Wing? Did she remember?

Hermione took the list from Ron, but Draco ran over and grabbed it from her. Ron stood up and said, "Give it back!"

"It doesn't matter, Ron," she said. "He can have it."

Draco read the list aloud again and said, "These would make good names, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," she said.

Ron remained standing, his fingers on his wand, as Draco walked back and forth in front of Hermione's table. "I especially like Hydra, don't you?" Draco taunted. "It's the name of the largest constellation."

"I know, and at first I thought I that I liked the name, but then I remembered it was also from Greek Mythology," Hermione said, standing her ground, and staring him right in the face.

He balled up the list and threw it at her. It bounced off her chest. She picked it up and smoothed out the wrinkles as Draco said, "So is the name Hermione, and Hydra is also Latin, for water snake. Draco is Latin for Dragon."

"Yes, but in Greek Mythology, Hydra was a creature with nine heads and the body of a snake, so I think it would be a horrible name," she said.

Draco frowned. If this Hermione knew that, then why didn't his Hermione know that? No way was he naming his daughter such a disgusting name! He had to let his Hermione know this, and soon! Hermione almost wanted to laugh at the disgusted look on Draco's face. He leaned forward and pointed his finger at her. He said, "You remember don't you?"

Ron asked, "Remember what? Look, never mind, just back away, Malfoy."

Draco sat down at the table next to them. The tables in this classroom were end to end, forming a large 'U' around the room, so he was sitting right next to her. Ron frowned and said, "Go find another seat."

Draco smiled and said, "But my bum is so comfortable in this chair."

Harry walked in and saw Ron sitting on one side of Hermione, and Draco on the other. He walked up to Malfoy and said, "That's my seat."

"Really?" Draco asked with sugary sweetness. "It didn't say it belonged to a pompous arse with a lightning bolt scar and a hero complex. So sorry, old chap, but you must find a different chair."

"Get up!" Harry ordered. Other students had started to file into the room, and soon, no one was sitting. They were watching as Harry Potter and Ron Weasley drew their wands, and Draco Malfoy sat with his feet up on a table, next to Hermione Granger, who seemed oblivious to it all, as she continued to write something on her list.

McGonagall came in, rolled her eyes and said, "Everyone find a seat now or the whole class with have detention!"

Harry leaned down to Hermione and said, "Let's go sit over there."

"No!" she whispered harshly.

He pulled her arm to stand her up, and in her embarrassment at Harry's actions, she moved to another seat with him. She was now on the other side of the classroom.

"Put your feet down, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said.

"Say the magic word," Draco spouted.

"Detention!" she said.

"Sorry, the magic word is, 'Please'," Draco said, removing his feet. The class laughed and McGonagall's mouth became a tight, thin line.

As she started the class, Draco reached over to the empty seat next to him, as he spied the parchment on which Hermione was writing. She had circled the name, Carina, and had written on the side, "A constellation in the southern hemisphere, near the Southern Cross that contains Canopus, the second brightest star in the sky."

He smiled to himself and stuffed the paper in his pocket. That was a better name. Carina. He would have to somehow let the future Hermione know that they weren't naming their daughter Hydra after all. They were naming her Carina.

**Lunch:**

Draco was in the Library alone when Hermione walked through the doors. She was also alone. She smiled at him. She did remember. He wondered if she had told anyone. Whom would she have to tell, really? He knew he wasn't going to tell anyone, not even Don. She walked by his table and dropped an envelope in front of him. Then she walked over behind two shelves, where there was a lone table, and she sat down.

He opened the envelope and saw that it was a Christmas card. It said, "May all your Christmas wishes come true." She signed it just, "Hermione". No love expressed. He stuffed the card in his pocket, looked around and when he didn't see anyone watching him, he walked over toward the abandoned table to talk to her.

She was reading. He sat down next to her and said, "Carina, huh?"

She shrugged.

"So, you heard me the other night, in the Hospital wing?" he inquired.

She shrugged again.

"Do you remember everything?"

She started to shrug, but he placed his hands on her shoulders. She smiled and looked at him. "For Merlin's sake, Granger, speak!"

She bit her bottom lip and tried to hide her smile. "We're going to have a little girl someday, aren't we?"

"Well, you aren't, for a while yet," he said.

"Who do you think was trying to kill me in the forest, with Neville and Seamus?" she asked.

"I really wish you still couldn't remember," he said.

"Why do you think I forgot everything?" she inquired.

"You took a potion, either of your freewill or someone gave it to you. It must have worn off by now."

"I wouldn't take something to make myself forget," she warned, "That means someone gave it to me."

"That's more of a problem," he said, more to himself.

She leaned forward and said, "Now, tell me, who was trying to murder me? Was it Ellen?"

He took her hand under the table, and rubbed the top with his thumb. He told her, "I still think the panther is Ellen, and the wolf that tried to take you off to the forest, I believe, is Paul Boot, another brother of Don's."

She took her hand from his and turned in her chair. "I thought you said that the Boot brothers took a vow to protect us."

"They did, in the future, which I guess in this case extends to the past, but he might not be working on his own." Draco looked over his shoulder, made sure no one was around, and he took her hand again. "Don gets information in his sleep from his Nick in the future, and that Nick told him that Paul tried to kidnap the future you. He also thinks that Paul is either under the influence of the Imperio or that perhaps Ellen is under the influence, by Paul."

She frowned. She said, "Why would this Paul Boot want to hurt me? Is it for the same reason that his sister wants to hurt me? Is it because I killed their mother?"

"I don't think so," he said evenly. He thought it was because of something more sinister, like unrequited love, but he didn't want to scare her. He also didn't want to believe that something like THAT would be the reason he was so far from home, and away from his very pregnant wife. It had to be something more than that, or else none of this made sense.

When he didn't speak for a moment, she said, "Are you still planning on staying here for Christmas break?"

"Yes," he said, distracted. He still had her hand, and he was rubbing it with his. She liked it.

"I'm staying, too," she smiled.

He dropped her hand. "No, you have to go to the Burrow, so Pothead and Weaselbee can protect you."

"I'll stay here and you can protect me," she seethed, scooting her chair out from under the table, "or better yet, I'll protect myself! I am more than capable. I'm not some weak female, you know."

"I'm not arguing that fact," he said. He tried to pick up her hand again, but she placed both her hands together, and placed them on her lap. "Fine, be like that. By the way," he started, "I want you to know that anything I might say and do tonight at Slughorn's party are all lies. I have to relive this year, and the first time I did some things at the party that I'm not proud of and they are things that I would rather forget."

"What sort of things?" she began, but added, "Wait, you aren't part of the Slugclub. With whom are you coming? Zabini?"

"I'm crashing," he said, and then he leaned back in his chair. He had to sneak in so he could get the poisoned Meade to Slughorn. He closed his eyes for a moment and then laughed a bit, before opening them. He said, "Watch out for your date tonight. You've told me stories about how he was grabby, and he tried to snog you all night long. Just stay away from the mistletoe."

"Cormac?" she asked.

"How many other dates do you have to this thing?" he asked back with a twinkle in his eye.

"He seems like a gentleman," she remarked.

"Fine, don't believe me. Stand under the mistletoe and let him have his way with you."

"You wouldn't care?" she asked softly.

He leaned forward, and drew his index finger down her face, starting at her temple, along the outline of her hair. He ended by placing his hand behind her neck. He brought her face close to his and with his lips next to hers he said, "I care. Believe me, I care."

She slowly blinked, and then she opened her mouth slightly. As she took a deep breath in, he leaned another centimeter toward her and placed his lips lightly on hers. He leaned back just as quickly.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. "I thought we had to be circumspect."

He wiggled his eyebrows, pointed overhead, and said, "Mistletoe."

She looked up. There wasn't any mistletoe. She looked back and he was walking away, whistling a Christmas carol. She smiled. She already loved him. She really did.

**Before the Party –**

Ron was about to go to the Great Hall for dinner, but he wanted to wait for Harry and Hermione to come down the stairs first. They would not be joining him, since they were going to the party. Even Ginny was going. Harry had invited Luna to join him. He saw Cormac walk down the stairs, puffing out his chest like a proud peacock. While it was true that he might not have the same feelings for Hermione that he once had, he still loved her. He always would, and this oaf had better take care tonight.

Cormac walked over and said, "What are you waiting for, Weasley?"

"Can't a man stand around his own common room, McLaggen?"

Just then, Hermione walked down the stairs. She had on a red silk blouse that wrapped around the waist, which was opened wide at the collar. She had a full black skirt, and black ballerina flats. She had her hair up and she had a hint of makeup on her face. Cormac smiled, thinking she had dressed up for him. Ron frowned, thinking the same. Hermione wasn't aware of either man's assumptions. She had dressed up for Draco, because he was going to crash the party.

Harry walked down the stairs in his dress robes just as Ginny came down the stairs. She had on a dark blue velvet dress. Her long ginger hair was shiny and bright. Harry couldn't help but smile. He wished he had asked her to go with him.

"Well, we're off, fellows," Ginny said as Seamus and Dean joined Ron. "Happy Holidays, everyone."

Cormac held out his arm for Hermione. She took it, but was pulled back by Ron. She motioned for Cormac to go out and wait for her in the hall. She smiled at Ron, and asked, "Yes?"

"Be careful tonight," he said.

"Oh, it's just Cormac. I can handle him," she said. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He placed his hand on his cheek, in awe, and as she started to turn away, he pulled her back once more.

"I meant, be careful of Malfoy. I don't trust him. Harry says he's up to something. He overhead Snape and Malfoy discussing you, and the fact that he had a mission to do."

Hermione frowned. Why would Draco discuss anything with Snape? Wasn't that dangerous, to let Snape know why he was here? Ron noticed her frown and he said, "Just stay by Harry and you'll be okay."

She nodded, and with a weak smile she turned to walk out the door.

After two hours of fighting off Cormac, and no signs of Draco, Hermione was ready to leave the blasted party. She found several of the guests interesting, especially Eldred Worple, and the vampire Sanguini, but she couldn't talk very long with either, because Cormac kept showing up. She finally found Harry, just as Filch came up to Snape and Slughorn, with Draco tightly in his clutches.

"Professors, we have a party crasher," Filch said.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" Snape asked.

Harry leaned over to Hermione and said, "I know what he's doing here."

"Come, Draco," Snape continued. "I must have a word with you outside in the hall."

He took Malfoy's arm, but Slughorn said, "Tut, tut, Professor. If young master Malfoy wants to enjoy my party, and I can't blame him, for they are world renown, then he's welcome to stay."

"I must have a word with him first," Snape said. He took Draco's arm and led him outside. Harry snuck off as well, to place his invisibility cloak over his head, so he could join them in the hall. He wanted to know for the last time what Malfoy's mission was. He would find out tonight.

Hermione started to walk out after Harry, but Cormac was suddenly standing behind her. He turned her around and he said, "Why are you trying to avoid me all evening?"

"I'm not," she feigned with a fake smile. "I've actually been looking for you for the longest time."

"Look, mistletoe." He nodded upwards with his head. Hermione almost groaned.

She pushed on his chest and said, "I think I need some punch. Could you get me some?" Suddenly, Blaise Zabini was standing beside her.

"Here, Granger, have mine, I've not taken a drink yet," he said. She looked at him suspiciously, and was about to decline when Cormac took it upon himself to answer for her.

"She's my girlfriend, Zabini. I'll get her punch if she wants it."

Hermione whipped around to Cormac and said, "We aren't boyfriend and girlfriend!"

"But I thought," he started.

"Well, you were wrong to think!" she cut him off, and then she took the cup from Blaise and downed it all in one drink. She handed the cup back to Zabini, and then started toward the door, when she swayed. She shook her head. She felt someone's hand on the small of her back. They led her over to a corner, and sat her in a chair. If it were Cormac, she would kill him, plain and simple, just as soon as she got her faculties back. She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was Blaise.

He sat her down on the chair and said, "Stay there, and don't move a muscle. I'll be right back and then I'm getting you out of here. I know you have no reason to trust me, but you must. You are in danger here tonight."

She wanted to tell him what he could do with his command, and tell him that she had no intention of going anywhere with him, but she felt too lethargic even to speak. She saw Harry run back in the room, apparently looking for her, and then he became lost in the crowd. Next she saw Draco coming back in and she saw Zabini walk up to him and bend his head near the blond man, to tell him some sort of secret, she was sure.

She shook her head again, the fuzzy feeling now overwhelming her, and she tried to stand up, when she felt another person's hand on her back. She looked back and it was Terry Boot. He asked, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head no and then she closed her eyes. He helped her to stand, and he had to practically hold her upright. He steered her toward the door.

Draco and Blaise went to the corner where Blaise had left her. "Where is she?" Draco demanded.

"I swear, I left her right here, and she would not have been able to leave by herself!"

"Zabini, I really wish you had told me in the beginning that you were sent back to the past by my father! It would have made things a lot easier," Draco said, scanning the room for Hermione's head. He saw Harry in the other corner of the room, doing the same thing.

Blaise said, "I was never supposed to tell you, but watching the two of you is a full time job, and I thought I could be of more help if I let you in on my secret."

Draco said, "And you are the one who gave her the potion to make her forget the first time, right?"

"Yes, in her morning apple juice, but this time I just gave her a slight sedative. I want her to feel as if she's under the weather, so she'll want to go back to her room. My information leads to the fact that something big is going to happen tonight." Zabini clenched his fist and asked, "Where in the hell did she go?"

Draco pushed Blaise and said, "You better help me find her!"

Harry walked up to the men and said, "What have you done with Hermione?"

Draco looked at Blaise and said, "Yes, Zabini, what the hell have you done with Hermione?"


	22. Part XXII

**Part XXII:**

**Terry Boot:**

Terry steered an obviously intoxicated Hermione down the long corridor of the dungeons. Unknown to him, she wasn't drunk, but merely sedated. She almost tripped and fell twice. She hadn't even asked him where he was taking her, because words could no longer form on her lips.

He reached a portal, where the hallways split in two, and he whistled. His brother Nick came down the hall and said, "What did you do to her?"

"She was like this when I found her," Terry said. "I think she's pissed."

"Drunk?" Don said, running toward the pair. "She's drunk? Hermione Granger has never been drunk." He held her up and gave her cheek a pat. "I think she's been drugged."

He picked her up and said, "Come on, we don't have much time to waste. Did anyone see you leave with her?"

Terry and Nick ran along side their brother, who was carrying Hermione and Terry answered, "I'm positive no one saw me. Blaise Zabini left her in the corner, just as he said he would. Are you sure it's going to happen tonight?"

"Probably as we speak," Nick said. "I know my vision was accurate. I am very sensitive to Ellen now. I can sense what she's doing and thinking. It's only a matter of time before we find her. I just wish the things I see were more cognitive, so I could sense her present state, instead of just seeing what WILL happen."

They came upon a passageway, narrow and dark. Don had to duck to enter. They traveled further until they came to an iron grate. Terry kicked it open, and they were out on the grounds. Don passed Hermione to Nick and said, "Take her up to the Astronomy tower. She should be safe there. I already passed the fake note to Snape, who will give it to Harry. We'll inform Draco later. I only wished I had already told him. He'll be so angry when he finds out that Blaise Zabini isn't what he appears. "

Nick took the now sleeping Hermione from Don, and he and Terry ran toward the tower.

Everyone was searching for Hermione, when Snape re-entered the room. Draco ran up to him and said, "There's a problem."

"No there isn't," he said. He held up a note and said, "Say no more." Then he walked over to Potter and handed him a note. "This is to your head of house. You're to take this note to her immediately and then go straight up to your tower."

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked indignantly.

"That is all explained in the note," Snape answered.

Harry begrudgingly took the note and ran out of the doorway. He read it as soon "s he could. All it said was that Hermione was taken ill and escorted to the Hospital wing, and that she would remain there for a while. Harry didn't believe it for a moment. Instead of taking it to McGonagall, he took it to his fellow Gryffindors.

Draco watched as Harry ran out of the hall and turned toward Snape. "What was that? Where is she?"

"She's safe for now. Don Boot had intelligence that someone posing as one of the guests is really Ellen. Remember, ingredients were stolen for Polyjuice potion. We think the culprit is disguised as we speak."

Draco sighed. "But we don't even know who Ellen inhabits, so she could be in here without Polyjuice potion."

"Not if she wasn't invited to the party. Not everyone crashes, you know," Blaise answered. Draco turned to him.

"Tell me again why you're here?"

"Listen, Malfoy, I work for your father. He made me come, so I came. I'm from the future, just like you. I just told you that. I'm trying to help you, too. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

Snape said, "I don't think I should hear anymore."

Draco and Blaise walked back in the party. They watched everyone carefully. They saw the vampire Sanguini turn and look right at them. The tall, thin, pale man walked over to them. He held out his hand and said, "Mr. Malfoy, it's an honour to meet you. I've known your father for a long time."

"Hmm," Draco huffed, barely shaking the man's hand.

"Quite a little racket you caused earlier, crashing the party," he said. He smiled at Blaise and asked, "Who was that fetching little witch you were speaking with earlier. Was that the friend of Potter's? I only spoke with her for a moment, but she seemed very sweet. She smelled sweet, too. B positive blood, if my nose is correct."

Draco began to almost growl. The man smiled, and his fangs showed. He leaned forward and said, "I bet she'd taste sweet, too." Then he leaned away and said, "I understand you are acquainted with my worst enemy, Greyback?"

"Perhaps," Draco snarled. "You two don't like each other much?"

"Werewolves and Vampires don't mix, sort of like Gryffindors and Slytherins. You see, a snake would never lie down with a lion." The man tipped his hat and walked away.

Blaise leaned toward Draco and said, "He may not be Ellen, but I bet he knows something. Look at that woman with him. Who is she?"

Draco stared at the dark haired woman. Her hair was black as night, almost as black as the panther. Could this be Ellen? Well, if it was, she would have to try to get Hermione another day, and Draco would be ready.

**The Tower:**

Hermione woke up disoriented and freezing cold. Recognizing that she was in one of the towers, she huddled against the stone wall. She stood up, but felt lightheaded and had to sit back down. She was also freezing cold. She huddled against the stone wall, and recognized that she was on one of the towers. She stood up, but felt lightheaded again, and she had to sit back down. Nick Boot ran over to her from the other side of the tower. "Sit down, Hermione."

He handed her a cloak. She gladly put it around her shoulders. She asked, "What am I doing here?" He thought she seemed afraid.

"I'm here to protect you. I had a feeling that my sister was at the party tonight, so we got you out of there. I'm sorry. It would have been easier just to tell you, but there wasn't time. You see, I only see things with her in spurts, and I never know if they have already happen, or are about to happen."

"Have you ever met her?"

"No." He sat down beside her. She drew up her legs and placed her chin on her knees. "I didn't even know I had a sister until Don came back and told me. Not much of a psychic, huh?"

She laughed. She liked this man. It didn't hurt that he was handsome, too. She said, "So, you aren't from the future, right?"

"No, only Don and Draco are from the future. I'm of the here and now."

"And Terry and your other brother?" she asked.

He grew quiet and turned his head. "Terry has no idea what's going on. He doesn't know Don and Draco came back from the past. He only knows that we are protecting you, and no one has seen Paul since your attack in the forest last week."

She thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you think he has anything to do with this, either in the now or in the future?"

He laughed, a sad, pathetic laugh, and in a self-effacing way said, "Like I said, not much of a psychic, huh? If I knew, I would tell you. I hope not, but I have a bad feeling about all of this. I really do."

"Since you're berating yourself, may I ask you a question that will also berate you a bit?" she inquired.

He turned to her, laughed, looked away, laughed again, and said, "You're a nutter. I like that about you. You're a real laugh. Go on, berate away."

"Can't you see what Ellen looks like, in your mind's eye, or whatever it's called?" she asked.

"Again, I wish I could. I have even taken to good old Muggle detective work to try to find out what she looks like, but my mother hid her well. I have to be very careful around my mother these days. She's not only a powerful witch but a very accomplished psychic. I have to guard my thoughts around her. She's very accomplished."

"You know what happens to her, don't you?"

He nodded, looked over his shoulder, as if he was trying to avoid answering, so she decided to respect his privacy with silence. She really didn't have any comforting words for him. Here he was, protecting the woman who would someday kill his mother. It was odd and surreal, even to Hermione.

They sat in silence for quite some time. She found herself drifting off to sleep. She leaned her head accidentally on his shoulder. She shook the cobwebs from her brain and said, "I'm sorry."

She looked up, and instead of seeing Nick Boot, she looked up into the eyes of Draco Malfoy. Hermione smiled and leaned her head back against his shoulder. "When did you get here?"

"Just now, shall I leave?" he asked.

"No way."

**Things left unsaid:**

She placed her head back on his shoulder and asked, "So why did I have to make such a haste retreat from the party? Did anything bad happen after I left? Did the Christmas tree trap any of the partygoers? Did Slughorn bore any of the guests so much that they strangled themselves with garland?"

He smiled as he stroked her hair and said, "Not quite. Nothing really happened."

"So, why does everyone seem to be after me? Do I really have that many enemies? Does as many people hate me in the future that seem to hate me in the present?" she asked, trying to show that she was dismissive, but actually very serious.

"There is something about you that instills hate in people. I know I hated you for a good portion of my life," he said with a straight face. Then he smiled, to show her that he didn't mean a word of it, and he touched his finger to her nose. "Tell me, did you speak with that Vampire much before you left?"

"Sanguini?" she asked. "Not really, although I would have liked to have talked with him longer. He seems very interesting, and a bit sad. He reminds me a bit of Professor Lupin."

"Ah, Hermione and her lost soul society," he mocked.

"Seriously, Draco, he had no choice in becoming a vampire anymore than Lupin did when he was turned into a werewolf," she chided.

"I won't argue with you now, but I will say one thing, to make comparisons such as that is ludicrous, and also, just to let you know, Vampires and Werewolves hate each other. There was a suspicious woman with him. Did you speak with her?"

"I didn't see a suspicious woman," she said with a yawn. "Then again, perhaps everyone I saw was suspicious. I don't know if I know anything, anymore."

"I've waited years for Hermione Granger to admit that she doesn't know everything," he said more to himself. He placed his arm around her and said, "We should get you to your tower. Your cover story to Potter is that you felt ill and were taken to the Hospital Wing by Terry Boot. Let us go. You have to get up early to catch the train for the Burrow."

She stiffened. He removed his arm and turned to look at her. "I'm not going to the Burrow. I thought I already mentioned that to you, but if not, let me say it now. I'm staying here with you for Christmas."

"NO," he pronounced. Of course, she had mentioned it, but it wasn't going to happen.

"Yes," she contradicted.

"Hermione, you have to go. You went the first time, I mean, during my real sixth year. I have things to do this Christmas, and I can't do them if I'm holding hands with you the whole time. Besides, it hardly seems fair."

She pulled her legs up to her chest, rested her cheek on her knee, and turned to look at him. "What doesn't seem fair?"

"That I would get to spend Christmas with you, when the Hermione of my time has to spend it alone," he said.

"So you would rather I spend it alone?" she asked.

"You'll have your friends," he said. He stood up. His mind was made up. "You'll be safer there. You have to go."

She stood up, too, and pulled her arms tightly around her because the wind was cold as it whipped around them on top of the tower. "I don't want to go, and you really can't make me. I have a choice. I have freewill."

He laughed and turned to look at her and said, "And I have Potter. One word from me on the subject and you'll have to go."

Now she smiled and said, "If you mention to Harry that you want me to go to the Burrow, he will assume it's a trick, and force me to stay here. It'll backfire on you. HA!"

He smiled wider, and she glared at him in anger. "I won't say that. I'll say, 'Hey, Potter, isn't it jolly good that your little Mudblood friend lied to you about going skiing with her parents, and that she's now going to stay right here at good old Hogwarts, where she'll be all alone, and at my very beck and call.' Yes, I think that should work. He'll drag you the whole way to the Burrow, probably kicking and screaming."

She was at a loss of what to say next. Finally, she said, "I won't be bested by Draco Malfoy, or outsmarted. I'll think of something."

"Well, think of it in bed." He looked at his watch and said, "You only have eight hours before your train leaves." He took her hand and started down the stairs. She pulled him to a halt.

"Draco, I'll go if you want me to, but will you answer a question for me first?"

He closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "Fine, what is it?"

"What memory does Harry need to find out from Slughorn? Surely you know."

He felt like someone had just splashed cold water on him, and on the coldest night of the year. He struggled to gain his composure. He was afraid of something like this. It was only a matter of time before she asked him such a question. Was the question, "What is a Horcrux" next? If she asked that, what would he say? He knew what he would say this time. He said, "I really can't say. I don't know to what you are referring." He hoped she wouldn't see through his lie.

She looked down at the floor and then sat on the top step. She said, "I was afraid of that. Harry must have never found out the memory from Slughorn, if you don't even know about it." She looked up at him and said, "That's even more of a reason why I have to stay. I have to figure out a way for Harry to find that memory. Dumbledore says it's the key to everything. If you can't tell me, then maybe he never finds it out." She stood up and started slowly down the stairs.

He didn't say another word to her until they reached the corridor that would lead her to Gryffindor Tower. He said, "Buck up, Granger. Just because my Hermione kept secrets from me, and never told me about Slughorn's memory, doesn't mean Potter won't be successful." He was piling lies upon lies now. "I mean, he must be successful, right, or you and I wouldn't have a future together."

"Maybe we don't," she suddenly said.

"What?"

"Maybe this really is your task. Make me believe we have a future together, so you can discover things for Voldemort."

He was slightly offended. "How can you think that after all we've been through? After all the proof I've given to you?"

"I don't know," she said suddenly. "And seriously, Draco, what proof have you given me besides your word? Goodnight." Her statement seriously affronted him, but he had no words for his own defense. She started toward the portrait of the fat lady, when Draco ran up behind her and pulled on her arm.

"Happy Christmas, Granger," he said. It was more of a question than a request.

"Happy Christmas, Malfoy." She gave him a weak smile, uttered her password, and walked in the door.

He knew she couldn't really believe that he was lying about their future. It didn't matter anyway. Let her think whatever she wanted, as long as she was safe. He went back to the dungeons and set his alarm for very early. He would make sure she was on that train come hell or high water. If he had to tell Potter that his mission was to kill Hermione, he would get her on that train. Even if he had to convince her that her nagging suspicions were right, and that he was nothing but a liar and a minion of the Dark Lord, she would be on that train to the Burrow for Christmas.


	23. Part XXIII

**Part XXIII:**

**Almost Christmas:**

**The Past:**

Bloody hell. Where was Granger? Draco sat over at the Slytherin table, eating breakfast. He saw stupid scar head, the ginger siblings, the shamrock, Thomas the arsehole, and one of those Patil twins, but no Granger. If she didn't get on that train this morning he would kill her himself.

He decided to find out where she was.

From the Gryffindor table, Seamus said, "He's watching us again."

Harry leaned forward and said, "I told you all last night that he was up to something. I heard Snape tell him that he needed to work on his Occlumency so that no one could read his mind. And that whole note about Hermione going to the Hospital Wing had to be a diversion between Snape and Malfoy. I checked and she wasn't there, but when she came back in the portrait way later that night, the first thing out of her mouth was, 'Oh, Harry, I've been at the Hospital Wing' without me even asking her where she'd been."

"Do you think she's working with him, or under his influence?" Seamus asked.

Ginny answered. "Don't be a fool. This is Hermione Granger. She's the most loyal person I know. I do think she's hiding something, though. What if she's trying to figure out what Draco's mission is, by befriending him. That sounds like something she would do."

Just then, Draco appeared at their table.

"Potter, I need to speak with you."

Without turning around, Harry said, "Speak."

"Alone," he said.

Harry turned around and stood up. He walked up to Malfoy, took a deep breath, and hissed under his breath, "Hallway, now."

Both men walked to the hallway. Harry said, "What do you want?"

"Where's Granger?"

"Why are you obsessed with her?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to tell you something, and I don't know if you will believe me, in fact, I know you probably won't, but here goes. Make sure she goes to the Burrow for Christmas. She lied about her parents and skiing. She has no intention of going with them. She intends to stay here, and that will be a mistake. Someone, and its not me, wants to hurt her very badly. They want her dead."

Harry looked deeply in the other boy's eyes. He never had a reason to trust Malfoy, so why should he start now? Nevertheless, the thing was, he believed him. Harry said, "She already left early this morning, at least, that's what she told us."

"Damn her!" Draco clenched his fist.

"Tell me what you know," Harry said.

"I really can't," Draco said in despair. "I wish I could. I wish so many things. I wish we hadn't grown up hating each other. I wish we didn't hate each other now. I will tell you one important thing; I will never hurt Hermione Granger." Draco turned on his heels and headed back toward the Great Hall. Harry was right behind him. Both of them were wondering where in the world Hermione Granger was, and all the while Hermione Granger was walking around the village of Hogsmeade, waiting for the train to leave, so that she could sneak back into the school. No one told her what to do, no one! If she wanted to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas, by golly, she would.

**Present Day:**

Ron finished putting the Christmas tree in the corner of Hermione's living room. He turned on the lights. He said, "Is that good? Do you want to decorate it now?" She didn't answer. He turned to look at her. "Hermione?" She was sitting on the couch, a small ornament in her hand. He came to sit beside her. He knocked his shoulder into hers. "That's a strange ornament."

"It's a spider. A glass spider," she said, holding it up by the silver string, and watching it as it swayed back and forth. Ron grimaced. He didn't even like spider ornaments.

She said, "Draco bought it for me two years ago." She fingered the small silver and green spider. The silver piece of string from which it hung was so thin and wasp like, it was almost as if it were a piece of spider web. She started to hand it to Ron, but he shook his head no.

She said, "According to a German and Ukrainian legend, once upon a time, long, long ago, a mother was cleaning her house to prepare it for the most important day of the year. She was preparing it for Christmas Eve. It was a day to honour the Christ child, and she didn't want even one speck of dirt to be left in her house. All of the spiders in the house went to one little corner of the ceiling to avoid being swept away when she dusted. When it was apparent that she was even going to clean the ceiling, they went to hide in the attic.

The tree by the hearth in the living room was decorated with all sorts of finery, glass bulbs, golden ribbons, and candles and such. The spiders wanted to see the tree, and they also wanted to be present on Christmas Eve, to catch sight of the Christ child."

She placed the fragile spider in Ron's large hand, whether he wanted it there or not, and continued to speak. She didn't see that Harry and Ginny were standing in the doorway, listening intently along with Ron, or that her mother and father had walked in from the other doorway, and were listening, too.

"The oldest spider suggested that they go down and peek through the crack in the door, to see the wonderful tree, so they crept down the stairs and they waited at the crack in the door. When someone opened to door, they scurried into the room. The room was too bright for their eyes, from the light of the fire, and the candles on the tree, which reflected on the glass bulbs. Since they couldn't see the tree from far away, they crept up and over the tree, up and down, around and around, each and every twig and branch, so that they could see every little ornament. Once they had seen the entire tree, the oldest spider declared that they should go back to the attic."

"Therefore, they left, but what they didn't understand was that every single branch and ornament that they had touched, they had also left behind a web. When the Christ Child came to bless the house, he saw all the webs, and since he loved every living creature, including spiders, and he did not want the mother of the house to be angry at the spiders, or dismayed that they had ruined the tree for her children, he touched the webs with his finger. When he did, they all started to sparkle and shimmer, silver, gold, and bright. When the children and the mother came to see the tree the next morning, they saw the silver and gold shining webs, and they were filled with delight, and ever since then, according to legend, we have hung tinsel on our Christmas tree, to honour the spiders."

She took the little glass spider back from Ron and he said, "I hate spiders."

They all laughed and then Hermione said, "I miss Draco." Everyone stopped laughing. She walked up to the tree, hung the spider, and walked out of the room.

**Hogsmeade at Christmas:**

**Past:**

Hermione walked along the village streets, stopping to look in shop windows, which were decorated with all sorts of Christmas finery. The sweets shop had candy canes, chocolate covered nuts and nutcrackers, which marched back and forth behind the glass, guarding the other sugary confections. The bookstore had rows of garland surrounding the windows and big red bows on the books that rested on the display shelf in the large picture window. Everything screamed "CHRISTMAS" to her. Usually she loved Christmas, but this year she felt sad and lonely. She was beginning to question her decision to stay at Hogwarts, a sentiment that was amplified when she heard the familiar whistle of the train blow. Harry and the others were undoubtedly already on the train. It was too late to leave now. Somehow, that thought scared her a bit.

She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and decided to kill some more time in The Three Broomsticks. If she went back to the school too early, Draco might find a way to stop the train and place her on it. She walked in the bar and unwrapped the scarf she had just tightened, walked over to an empty booth, and sat down. She removed her hat and coat, ordered a hot chocolate, took a paperback book out of the pocket of the coat, and started to read.

She was so engrossed with the old Muggle story, one that she read at least once a year, that she didn't notice there was a person in the booth opposite her until they sat down. She looked up. Before her was a pale man, with long blond hair, and a crooked smile. She recognized him immediately from Slughorn's party. It was the vampire, "Sanguini".

She closed her book and as he extended his hand, she kept hers in her lap. He shrugged, put his hands back on the top of the table, and said, "Fine, don't shake my hand, young Miss Granger."

"I'm sorry, that was rude," she stated, extending her hand. He shook her hand as she asked, "How are you?" She wanted to ask, 'Why are you here', but she didn't. She thought of the warning that Draco had given her last night regarding the woman that was with him at the party. She looked around to make sure there was no one with him today.

He let go of her hand. "Do you really want to know?" he asked in a singsong voice, leaning closer toward her as he did so.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know," she stated.

"I'm sad. Ask me why."

"Why?"

"You're so sweet to ask," he played along. "I'm all alone for Christmas, and believe me, a vampire alone at Christmas is one of the saddest things around."

Suddenly, Hermione looked out the window. It was only nine in the morning. "It's daylight."

"Ah, so it is. You don't believe the silly old stories about vampires do you?" he asked. "I thought you were a smart girl, well educated. I know you know a lot about Werewolves, because I understand you have one as a friend, but to know that you know nothing of my infliction makes me want to educate you personally. Would you like me to educate you on the finer points of Vampirism?"

"Not really," she answered flippantly. She picked up her book, opened it again, and began to read as he sat in the opposite booth laughing. He reached over for her book and took it from her. She glared at him with a reproachful look as he began to peruse the pages.

"How quaint. You're reading, 'Little Women', a story about a poor little family with their poor little girls, who have nothing for Christmas." He handed her the book back and she placed it back in her coat pocket. He said, "You left the party in a hurry last night didn't you?"

"I was ill," she said quickly.

"Nothing blood borne, I hope," he said with a snicker, and then he gave her a large smile, which showed his fangs.

"What do you want?" she asked, suddenly not at all afraid of him, but rather irritated.

"You are much too smart, aren't you?" he said, raising one eyebrow. "Fine, let us cut to the chase. I had an interesting chat with one of our fellow guests at the party last night. Would you like to know what it was about, or not?"

"Why would I want to know?" she asked.

"Because it was about you, my sweet girl," he said, leaning in closer, his hands suddenly grabbing hers. He brought her hands to his nose and inhaled deeply. "Ah, you do smell sweet. Like a fine cognac, or a cold winter day. Your blood is so warm and rich and undoubtedly sweet."

She tried to pull her hands from his, but he was much too strong. "Just a moment," he said. "I will give you my message, and then you may reach for your wand and do what you may to me, agreed?"

She said nothing, thereby agreeing.

"There was a woman at the party. I had never met her before. She had black hair, black as a raven, you might say."

Hermione was immediately on guard. He said the word, "raven" as if he knew something. He continued, "She offered me something that was almost too good to pass up, if I would help her with something. Would you like to know what that something was?"

"What?" she said curtly.

"I was to try to get you alone last night, in an abandoned corner, out of range of the 'Boy Who Lived', and I was to give you a message. Would you like that message now?" His hands tightened on hers to the point of pain. She looked up and noticed they were completely alone in the bar. There was not even one barman, or waitress to be seen.

"Give me your message, and then unhand me," she said steadily.

He waited a moment. He said, "My ears, which are acute to hearing the most miniscule of things, can hear your heart rate accelerating, and your breathing becoming more laboured and shallow. You're afraid, but you're also angry. Those two emotions will help you right now. Here is my message, I repeat, MY MESSAGE, not hers. Leave this place; hole yourself tightly in the confines of Hogwarts. She can't touch you there. There was magic from another time that also prevented a certain witch from touching you at Hogwarts, but that's in your future, so you aren't aware of this yet. Your boyfriend and his friends must have forgotten this little tidbit as well, but this woman has not. You place yourself in grave danger by leaving the grounds. Go back now. I'll watch over you as you go back."

"Why are you helping me?" she asked. "What was her message, anyway?"

"Her message, well, I don't think you really need to know that. Her message wasn't as nice as mine."

"Again, why are you helping me?" she asked.

He smiled a real smile this time, with no fangs. He released some of the pressure from his grip of her hands and said, "Because you were the only person at the whole party last night that made a point to seek me out, to greet me, to take my hand, to ask me how I was. You didn't seem scared or disgusted by me. You asked me questions, and showed me kindness. Kindness goes a long way, Miss Granger, and should always be returned. Kindness is something my kind doesn't forget. This woman thought she could convince me to help her. She thought wrong. I only help myself."

"Yet you're helping me. A bit of a contradiction, isn't it?" she asked sincerely.

"I'm only helping you because it makes me feel good to do so. See, I am nothing if I am not self-serving. Now, let's get you back to Hogwarts. There's danger on the roads already. I will travel with you, but you shall only feel my presence. You won't see me. Get your book and let's go."

For some reason she believed him. He released her hands and she quickly put on her coat, hat, and scarf. Before she placed her gloves on her hand, she grabbed his, shocking him to the core. She looked deeply in his eyes, his pupils so dark that they were almost a blood red, and she said, "Thank you, and Happy Christmas, Sanguini. I hope I can repay your kindness someday."

He laughed. "You are a wonder." He pointed toward the door. She stepped out on the cobblestone street, thick with snow and ice, and looked back toward the door, and she was alone, although true to his word, she felt that he was near. Perhaps he was invisible, or had shape-shifted into an animal and was watching from nearby. No matter. She felt safer just knowing he was there, and she felt satisfied in the knowledge that she was right after all, she was safer at Hogwarts. She would have to tell Draco that he was wrong and she was right, but of course.

**The Road Back:**

Hermione felt no need to rush, though she did carry her wand out in front of her. She looked along the trees with each step, turning her head first toward the left, then toward the right. She had been walking close to fifteen minutes when she first felt it. There was a rush of air that didn't just go around her, but she swore it went _through_ her. She turned on the spot, and she saw a wolf. It was the wolf from the night in the forest. It wasn't Don or Nick or Terry. It wasn't just an ordinary wolf, because Great Britain didn't have wolves. No, this wolf was a wolf that haunted her dreams. It was Paul Boot. She knew it. Therefore, she started to run.

She ran only a short distance before the wolf caught up with her. She looked back as it came right toward her, and then it was picked up by the wind, and thrown away from her. An invisible force flipped the wolf head over heels, and the wolf cried out in anguished pain. Hermione didn't look back. She ran. She ran and ran as fast as she could. She could still hear the cries of the wolf as it fought its invisible foe. She turned back only once, and that was enough. She no longer saw the wolf, nor did she feel her protector. She took a deep breath, bent at the waist, and with her hand on her thigh, and a stitch in her side, she took a second deep breath.

She straightened back up when she could and turned to walk the rest of the way back, when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She held her wand tightly, and turned around, to stare into the golden eyes of the panther. She knew in her heart that it had to be Ellen. She also knew that Sanguini was no longer with her. Had the wolf won the fight? Had something bad happened to the vampire because of her? All these thoughts swirled around her brain, and mixed with her fear. Her hand shook as she leveled her wand toward the big, black cat.

The cat crisscrossed in front on her, causing her to take small steps backwards, until her back was against a tree. She was cornered. The cat sat down, and watched her, which she thought was odd. Why didn't it attack? Why didn't it strike her down? She wouldn't wait for it; she would take the offensive and attack first. She started to say a spell to incarcerate the animal, hoping in vain it would work, when she saw another wolf, from the corner of her eye. It was a smaller wolf, sandier in colouring. It came up to the cat, which was now lying down and it lay down next to it. She had never seen anything so odd in her life.

She was certain that the smaller wolf was Terry Boot. She had only seen him in his wolf form once, and she was injured and afraid that day, so she couldn't be one hundred percent certain, but she still thought it was he. The two animals, so distinct from each other, so poised next to each other, calmed her for some reason. She sat down next to the tree trunk, her wand still pointed at the pair, and waited. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for, or the reason the two beasts were waiting, but she didn't know what else to do.

Why oh why didn't she stay at Hogwarts? Maybe she wasn't always right, because it seemed that the decision to come to Hogsmeade today was a terrible one. After twenty minutes of a restful reprieve, the big cat actually closed its eyes. The small wolf came up to Hermione and placed its nose on her leg. She reached out and petted its ears, wondering all along if things could get anymore confounding. She reached in her coat pocket, placed her wand on her lap, and got out her book. She started to read aloud. Shortly after she started to read, she again felt the presence of the vampire as a breeze ruffling through the trees.

Once again, she didn't know how long they would be there, or why they were waiting, but at least she could read to while away the time.


	24. Part XXIV

**Part XXIV:**

"**I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too"**

After reading an entire chapter aloud, Hermione closed her paperback book and said to the wolf across her lap, "So, I'm a bit cold out here. Shouldn't we be heading back to Hogwarts?" The words from the vampire, that she was safer at Hogwarts, were still fresh in her mind. She felt vulnerable sitting out here in the open, even if there was a vampire 'mist' above her, a wolf across her legs, and a black panther within arm's reach.

Her life had become truly bizarre. She started to stand, but the wolf shook his head no. "Come now, Terry. Yes, I know it's you," she said to the wolf, "It's cold, snowy, and I feel somewhat apprehensive out here in the open. I'm going back to school. The vampire said I would be safer at Hogwarts."

Suddenly, the Vampire appeared before her again. He said, "Not yet, young lady. You may go back soon. We sent a message to the school that you were safe but that someone should come collect you, so we'll wait until your friend, young Master Malfoy, comes for you."

"Why wait? Why not walk back now? I think you three can protect me, and if you're not up to the task, I can look after myself," she said.

"That may be true, but we'll wait, all the same," he said. He sat down beside her on the cold, hard ground and said, "I happen to know that you are being watched, but the woman watching you won't touch you as long as the panther and wolf are with you, because she doesn't want to reveal herself to them."

"Then they should walk with me to Hogwarts," she reasoned.

"No, because they don't want to risk being seen together, for various reasons, and you wouldn't be safe with only me protecting you, so until someone comes for you, you should wait." The vampire sat next to her and said, "Read the next chapter please."

"In a moment," she said. She pointed toward the panther and said, "Is that Ellen?"

"As far as I know, that's a panther," he said. He looked at the wolf and said, "She's a bit daft, isn't she?" The wolf almost seemed to smile.

"Is that Terry Boot?" she asked, annoyed at the Vampire.

"I wasn't formally introduced to the wolf, so I'm not sure his name," Sanguini answered evasively. "Read, please."

"Instead of 'Little Women' I should read the 'Wizard of Oz' to you. This reminds me of that," she said.

He laughed and said, "Did you know before I became a Wizard, and then a Vampire, I was born a Muggle, just like you? I know 'The Wizard of Oz', young Dorothy. I suppose that would make the panther the cowardly lion, the wolf here Toto, and let's see, since you love me the most, I would be the Scarecrow."

"We need a tin man," Hermione said with a smile.

"I think I feel him running toward us now, so it's best that he not see us all together," the vampire said, pointing toward the road, where Draco was indeed running toward them. He was still too far away for Hermione to see. Sanguini stood up and said, "That's our cue to leave, chaps." He took Hermione's hand, helped her to stand, and then turned into a red mist and floated away, as the panther and the wolf ran toward the woods.

"GRANGER!" Draco yelled as he finally came closer, his wand out in front of him.

She placed her book back in the pocket of her coat and said, "It's about time you got here, Tin Man."

**Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man:**

"What did you call me?" Draco asked, his wand still out.

"Tin man," she said evasively. "By the way, how are you this morning?" she asked, as if everything was back to normal.

"I'll tell you how I am," Draco began, "I'm upset! You were supposed to be on that train! And instead, Potter tells me you left this morning to join your parents for Christmas, which we both knew was a lie, so we both looked everywhere for you! When we couldn't find you, Potter was forced to get on the train without you, but I had to promise the pompous arse that I would have you send him an Owl the moment I found you. Speaking of Owls, I just got this note, sent by Owl, from that vampire, written in what appears to be blood, telling me to come collect you at Hogsmeade!"

"Blood?" Hermione asked.

"Is that all you heard?" Draco leveled. "And by the way, the postscript said it was your blood."

She chuckled. "He has a very dry sense of humour," she stated.

"Is he a close personal friend of yours now?" Draco accused.

"Well, not really, but he was in contact with Ellen last night, at least I think it was her, though he never said that outright, he just said that some woman wanted him to perform a task and had a message for me, but that he wasn't going to deliver it, because it served him no purpose. Therefore maybe the panther is her, and the woman he spoke to last night was someone else. It seems everyone hates me nowadays, so I don't know," she said.

"What are you babbling about, now?" he asked.

"The panther and a wolf, as well as the vampire, all stayed with me over there in the clearing until you came for me," she said. "I'm not sure if Ellen is the panther or not, but I'm fairly certain the wolf was Terry Boot."

Draco wasn't as convinced. "It could have been Paul," he concluded.

"I think it was Terry, and if the panther was Ellen, then she's not out to harm me, because she had ample time and opportunity," she explained.

He sighed. "I don't give a rat's arse about any of this nonsense. Let's get you back to school, and then get you to the Burrow, little one." He took her hand and started walking, but she dragged her feet.

"Sanguini said I need to stay at Hogwarts," she said. "He says I would be in more danger at the Burrow."

"I don't give a double rat's arse what Linguini wants," Draco mocked.

"Sanguini," she corrected, although she knew he made the mistake on purpose.

"His name could be Spaghetti for all I care." Draco smiled as he took her hand and started walking toward the school. He laughed at the oddity of it all and then said, "His real name is Aaron Pearson. He was turned into a vampire almost twenty years ago. He's a distant cousin of my mother's, in some way, of course, all purebloods are related."

She shook her head and stopped walking. "He said he was Muggle born before he became a vampire," she said.

"Well he lied, how traumatic for you," Draco said sarcastically, as he started to drag her again. "He got his nick-name of Sanguini from the word, sanguine, because apparently, when he first became a vampire, he loved the act of draining his victims dry. You need to stay away from him." She frowned and stopped walking again. He huffed and asked, "What now?"

"He mentioned something to me that he said was in my future, but that it was something that you and Don must have forgotten, and now I wonder if it was a lie as well. He said there's old magic at Hogwarts, which protects me from Ellen, or whoever the woman was that was with him at Slughorn's party, and that as long as I'm at school she can't hurt me. Was he lying, and if not, how would he know that? To what was he referring?"

Draco's mouth hung open, and he said, "I wonder? I wonder if it pertains to Ellen, too. I mean, it was the reason Helena Boot couldn't touch you at Hogwarts, and she had to have others do her dirty work for her in the future, but would it pertain to Ellen, too?"

"What?" she asked.

"Come on!" This time he grabbed her hand, started to run, and didn't give her the opportunity to stop.

"**If I only had a Brain"**

Still holding Hermione's hand, Draco didn't stop running until he reached Don Boot's office. They entered the office and Don stood from his desk and said, "I'm so glad you found her!"

Ignoring Don's exclamation, Draco shouted, "We've been so stupid!"

"Who? You and Hermione?" Don asked, confused.

Hermione, who was having trouble breathing from running so far, sat in a chair and said, "Leave me out of this, Draco may be stupid but I'm not, and he's not told me what's going on, either."

Draco explained. "Remember the magic of the founder's, well, from Slytherin, which protects the heirs of Hufflepuff from the heirs of the Ravenclaw and the evil Darians? Remember how Helena couldn't touch a hair on Hermione's head while she was at Hogwarts, because the stupid bitch was the heir of Ravenclaw and the eldest Darian brother. That's why she had to have Paul and even you to hurt her, while under the Imperius curse. Remember?"

Hermione looked at Draco, and knew one thing, she sure as hell didn't remember, since none of this had happened to her yet. Who was 'the bitch' Draco was talking about, what was 'a Darian' and who was the heir of Hufflepuff anyway?

Don flinched, recalling what 'their' Hermione had told them years ago, during the excavation of the founder's castle. Slytherin's spirit had told her that Helena Boot had the blood of an evil wizard by the name of Darian in her, making her the descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw and the Darian. Slytherin, who hated the Darians, and held Rowena in only slightly higher regard, made sure that only a descendent of Helga's and his could find the powerful Darian wand, which Slytherin had used to kill the evil wizard because he had taken Helga. At the time, Helena Boot wanted this wand, which was the wand Hermione had eventually used to kill the woman, because she thought it would give her more power than Voldemort.

Slytherin's protection was also the reason Helena couldn't touch Hermione at Hogwarts, because Helena Boot was a direct descendent from both Ravenclaw and the eldest Darian, and she was a female. He enchanted the grounds so that no female heir of a Darian and Ravenclaw's could ever hurt Helga or her line ever again. Could that extend to Ellen, who also had Darian blood, or could it mean their enemy this time was the same enemy as the last time? Could it be the present Helena who was trying to harm Hermione, and not Ellen?

"We have been stupid!" Don spouted after a moment of silence.

"I know. Hermione's safe here! Ellen can't touch her," Draco reasoned.

Don protested by shaking his head no. "That's not the assumption I'm working under. I think it means that Ellen isn't the person trying to hurt Hermione. I think it might just be my stepmother, Helena. I think it could have been her all along. I wonder if she somehow visited the future and brought Ellen here as a ruse. Perhaps she still wants the Darian Wand. In this time, it would still be in the cave, but she would still need Hermione to get it for her. Or maybe she wants revenge of the person who would someday kill her."

Draco frowned and said, "Use your brain, man! The present Helena wouldn't yet know about the Darian wand, because the Nick of this time hasn't yet had the vision about the prophecy. Nor would she know about the fact that Hermione is going to be the death of her someday."

"Don't put anything past her," Don said. "She could easily have found these things out from Ellen or Paul if she visited the future, and they might not even have known they told her anything. Remember, she originally thought she was the Slytherin – Hufflepuff heir. If she somehow found out that was a lie, and that it was really Hermione who is the heir, it's hard to tell what she might do. No, I bet my life on the fact that Helena is the true threat, not Ellen."

Hermione, who had taken off her shoe to remove a pebble said, "Besides, I think Ellen is the panther, and the panther was a perfectly nice kitty to me today." She put her shoe back on, only just realizing what Don had said, and asked, "Who did you say was the heir of Hufflepuff and Slytherin?"

"You," Draco answered, and then he scowled. He didn't want to tell her more. The less she knew about her future, and the perils that she had yet to face, the better. Luckily, before she could ask for any more information, Don asked for clarification about Ellen being 'a nice kitty'. Hermione explained what the vampire told her, and about the panther and the light coloured wolf.

"That does sound like Terry," Don said, now also frowning. "I wish we knew for certain if the panther is Ellen. I need to find Terry. Damn him for hiding things, anyway. I hope if it is Ellen, she doesn't reveal his future to him." Don ran out of the room.

Draco raised his hands in disgust and said, "I didn't know our conversation was over with, Don!"

"He can't hear you, he already left," Hermione stated plainly.

Draco looked at her as if she had two heads. "Thank you, Miss Know-it-all, I hadn't noticed," he said sarcastically. "I have more questions than answers now, and I would really like to know who the hell our enemy here is. Is it Ellen, Helena, Terry, Paul, or who? If Helena could never touch you here, then why did Don and I have to come back?"

"I don't even really know who Helena is, remember, so don't ask me. But, maybe you're the intended target," Hermione stated. "Or perhaps your earlier assumption that Hermione, your future wife, or should I say, the future me, is the target. Perhaps someone did want you out of the picture, so he or she could hurt me in the future. Maybe the whole goal is to make sure our child is never born, by killing the child in the womb, or the mother before the birth. They could make sure that happens either in the future, or by killing me now. Maybe this Helena wants to use the present me to get this wand from the cave, and then she will go to the future, or send someone else, and kill me there. Kill two birds with one stone, or two Hermione's, rather."

Draco thought she was acting very blasé' about the whole thing, but then again, it was abstract to her. She didn't know just how truly evil Helena Boot truly was, and the whole idea that perhaps Helena was out to kill their child was something that he hadn't even considered. Everything was more confusing than before. He would have to wait and see what Don found out from Terry. If Terry confirmed that the panther was Ellen, and they found out that the panther/Ellen was not here to harm Hermione, but instead, here to protect her somehow, or worse, here at the direction of her mother, then Draco might have made the biggest mistake of his life by coming back. Especially since he and Don could not change the future, for they traveled under the magic of the blue moon, at the suggestion of Paul. The same couldn't be said for Ellen or Paul, who didn't travel under the magic and the phase of the blue moon, or even Helena, who was of the present time – all three of them could kill or hurt Hermione here or in the future.

He pulled Hermione up from her chair and held her, the whole time thinking about his Hermione back home, pregnant, and alone, and possibly in danger.

**Present Day, Two Days Before Christmas:**

It was two days before Christmas, and Hermione was in the small attic bedroom visiting with Draco. His body stayed in a small bed, in the small attic bedroom, in a state of perpetual sleep. She looked at him closely. It was strange, since his body was in a sort of stasis; it was as if no time had passed at all, when the reality was that four months had gone by. She sat on the bed, took his hand, and said one thing: "Happy Christmas, Malfoy." She leaned down and kissed his lips. She stood back up and walked up the small set of stairs that were in the corner of the attic room, which led upstairs to a widow's walk. She walked and mediated up there every evening after visiting Draco's body. It gave her a sort of comfort, which she sorely needed.

Hermione wrapped a shawl tightly around her and started to walk back and forth the narrow walkway on top of her house, which was surrounded by a weathered wrought iron banister. She felt this little walkway was an appropriate place for her. Back in the olden times, women would stand up on the widow's walk, and wait for their husbands to come back from sea. They would watch out over the horizon, and wait for a sign that their husbands would soon be home or would be safe.

She looked out over the horizon, which was dark in the evening sky, and she felt no hope. She hated feeling this way. She had tried to contact Draco again, the way she had before, but she couldn't reach him. He had someone to love in the past. Perhaps he no longer needed or wanted her. She knew that was a stupid thought, but it was valid, and she couldn't help that such hopeless, fleeting thoughts entered her mind, especially since it was only two days until Christmas.

She looked down at her stomach. She said, "I hope you come sooner than later, little one. I need someone to love right now." As soon as she said, 'little one' it made her sad. That was Draco's name for her, and she had been calling her baby that for the last few weeks. She had changed her mind about the name Hydra, so now she called her 'little one'. She heard the trap door to the widow's walk open, and saw Harry Potter push it open as he came to join her.

"Your mother told me to come get you because it's cold and she knew you would be up here," he said.

She merely nodded. He walked up to her and embraced her. "No news is good news," Harry said.

"That's stupid," Hermione said with a laugh. "We wouldn't know what's going on anyway. Nick hasn't been able to contact Don for weeks now, and it's been almost as long since I was able to contact Draco. Do you think he misses me? Do you think he's thinking of me this Christmas?"

"Of course," Harry said.

Hermione held onto her best friend's arms, and turned her cheek to rest on his chest. She saw something ominous in the distance. She narrowed her gaze, brought her head off his chest, and pointed. "What's that, Harry?"

Harry turned to look toward where Hermione intended. He was as curious as she was. He said, "I don't know."

They continued to watch in the distance as a black, shapeless mass, which from far away resembled a single entity, came closer and closer. At first, Harry thought it was a black cloud, and as it was almost evening, it wouldn't be an unlikely thing to see, especially since snow was forecasted. Nevertheless, as the shape got closer, he knew it was something much more dangerous than a cloud.

Hermione asked, "Are they bats?"

Harry shook his head, pulled out his wand, and instinctively put Hermione behind his body. He glanced toward the trap door, which he now wished he had kept open. He glanced quickly back to the sky. It was ravens, hundred of them, and they were flying as if they were one.

Hermione knew as soon as Harry did what they were and what they meant. The last time she saw ravens was years ago, when they attacked her and Draco in Hogsmeade, at the direction of Helena Boot. She pulled out her wand as Harry bent down to pull on the door. It wouldn't open. He held his wand out in front of him and said, "Hold on, Hermione, and I'll apparate us out of here."

Before they could make their escape, the flock overtook them.

* * *

_A/N: My wonderful beta for this story, oliverwoodsgirl, pointed out that some of this chapter might confuse people who did not read __Familiar Place II: The Founder's Story__, so I apologize for that, but this was bound to happen in a sequel and the third story of a trilogy. I hope it's not too confusing. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I know the updates have slowed down, and with the Holidays coming, they might slow even more. In addition, I have some health things going on, so I have to take care of myself first. Sorry._


	25. Part XXV

**Part XXV:**

**Once Upon a Midnight Dreary: **

Harry covered Hermione's head with his hands, and ducked down with her as what appeared to be hundreds of ravens overtook them. He could barely hear Hermione's screams over the 'cawing' and rustling sounds coming from the flock. Birds pulled on their hair, pecked at their faces, tore their clothing. Hermione was shouting, and Harry was as well. Hermione's arms were frantically flying around her head, but then went directly to cover her stomach. Both of them were repeatedly bitten and pecked by the villainous birds. Harry finally pushed Hermione to the floor of the widow's walk, covered her body with his, though that left his back vulnerable. He pointed his hand with wand in the sky, and yelled out, "Reducto!"

The birds scattered everywhere, but as that flock spread, a new one seemed to come at them from the other side, it what appeared to be a well-planned fight. It was already apparent that these were no average ravens. It was as if they were trained in military battles, one group attacking from one flank, another from the other. Hermione let out a piercing scream that was heard all the way down to the room where Nick Boot was visiting with his brother Don. He heard the scream and ran up to the third floor. Ron was walking up the stairs when he too heard her scream. He joined Nick on the attic stairs.

Harry could no longer fight the birds. All he could do was try to protect Hermione and her baby. Every time he tried to lift his arm to disperse the birds, they would find a way to attack her, so he had to lay completely on top of her, as she huddle on her side, on the floor, in a ball. Suddenly, someone tried to open the trapdoor, but Harry and Hermione were lying on top of it. Harry heard Ron's voice shouting for them over the sounds of Hermione's screams and the macabre sounds of the birds, so he rolled slightly to his left, pulling Hermione with him and the trapdoor opened for Ron and Nick Boot. Ron stood on the stairs, pulled on Hermione's arm, pulling her across the ground, and then down through the door. As soon as Ron got Hermione to the opening in the floor, he lifted her up and ran down the narrow stairs to the attic bedroom.

Nick fought his way up the stairs, and out the trapdoor, and he tried to reach for Harry, who by this time was doubled over in pain, and could no longer fight. Finally, Nick pointed his wand at the birds, uttered a spell Harry had never heard before, and most of the birds disappeared. He then he grabbed Harry's arm and disapparated him to the room below.

Several of the birds escaped into the house with them. Ron set Hermione on her feet, and while keeping one arm around her, sent several hexes toward the offending birds. Nick let go of Harry's arm to help Ron. Hermione collapsed on the bed where Draco's body lay, yelling for Ron to protect Draco, but instead he pulled her into his arms, kept them tightly around her, and apparated her down to the living room, leaving Nick and Harry to kill the remaining stragglers.

Ginny ran from the kitchen, and shouted, "What happened!" Hermione had cuts and lacerations all over her arms, upper body and face. Her clothing was torn and her hair matted. A moment later, Harry and Nick appeared. Harry's injuries outshone those of Hermione; his sleeves and the back of his jacket were torn to shreds, and the wounds on his face and neck were open and bleeding freely.

Nick and Ron, while slightly injured with a few pecks and bites, were not as hurt as the other two. Ron placed his hands on Hermione's face and said, "Are you okay?"

"Tell me what happened!" Ginny shouted again.

"We were attacked by ravens," Harry said, as his wife forced him to sit down. She helped him removed his shredded jacket and shirt. She hissed when she saw the wounds on his face, neck and back.

Hermione asked Nick to move Draco to another room. Without question, he went to do so, as Ron ran to the kitchen to get a wet cloth for Hermione.

Harry brushed his wife's helpful hands aside, stood up and went to Hermione. He turned her around, checking to see if she was injured worse than she appeared. "Is the baby okay?"

"Harry," was all she could say.

"Hermione?" he asked back, but then he already knew what she wanted to say.

"The ravens."

"I know. Helena Boot."

**Bleak December:**

Hermione hadn't seen Draco since they left Don's Boots office. He insisted walking her back up to her common room, and then he left her there to stew. He wasn't happy that she had stayed behind, he was talking cryptically about things in which she had no clue as to what they meant, and furthermore, he refused to admit that she was right about staying at Hogwarts. She was safer here; she knew it in her heart.

Before he left the portrait way he placed his hand in hers, pulled it up to his face, kissed the top, and said, "You'll get answers as soon as we do. I'll come back and get you for lunch." He gave her a sad smile, and then pulled his hand from hers. She watched as he walked down the hallway and out of sight.

She entered the empty common room and sat down on one of the long sofas. There were only two other Gryffindors who stayed behind for the holidays. With the threat of Voldemort hanging over all of their heads, and all the unsettling things happening in their world right now, ranging from Werewolf attacks, to disappearances and murders, most parents wanted their children safe within the bosoms of their families.

Hermione knew that Harry and Ron were undoubtedly worried about her, so she wrote them a small note, along with another one for her parents, and told them she was safe and at school. She knew that Draco had told her to remain in the common room until lunch, but with only one second year little boy and one seventh year girl as company, she wasn't about to spend her day in Gryffindor tower. She took her letter to her parents, and the one to the boys, and she headed to the Owlery.

The stone steps up to the Owlery were covered with black ice, which made each step treacherous and dodgy. She almost slipped twice on the way up. She reached the top, placed the note to the boys on an old, brown, barn owl's leg, and the one to her parents on a pretty, snowy white owl's leg. She watched as both owls flew off into the distance, and waited at the opened archway windows until both turned into small specks in the sky. She leaned on the window seal and sighed. She felt restless and unsure of herself. She didn't like not knowing what was going on. She didn't like that Draco was keeping secrets from her. She wanted to learn more about this Helena Boot. She also wanted to know what Draco and Don meant about the founders and their heirs. She turned to walk out the door when she heard two men speaking on the stairs leading up to the Owlery. She looked around, found a bale of hay, and hunched down beside it, out of sight.

"Do you think there's any merit to what Ellen told us?" Hermione heard one of the men say. She immediately recognized the voice as belonging to Terry Boot.

"She has no reason to lie," his brother Paul said back. Then Paul called out, "Hermione Granger, where are you?"

Hermione sucked in a silent breath, shocked that she was discovered, and she was about to show herself, with her wand drawn, when she heard Terry say, "I really think she's safely in the future. I think the Hermione here at school is the one of this time."

"Let's hope so," Paul said. "It's bad enough that Don and Draco came back," Paul said, "It's not smart to mess with time travel, even if they did travel under a blue moon. In fact, I think its worse that they traveled under the blue moon. What's the point of coming back here to protect Hermione, if they really can't change the past? At least Ellen had the right idea, coming back without the protection."

"But without the blue moon protection, Ellen can't get back, and she's stuck here," Terry said.

"Better here and free, then to be in the future and in prison for something she didn't even do," Paul complained.

"Then you believe her story? You think she's innocent of trying to kill Hermione in the future?" Terry asked.

"She says she was made to do so. You heard her story. She says that the same thing happens to me in the future. It's not a hard concept to believe," Paul explained.

"But then that means our mother is behind all of this," Terry said. "I hate to think that."

"I do too, and frankly, I still don't know who to believe, Ellen or Don. Someone is the bad guy here, and until we can sort through all the rubbish, I will remain hidden and protect Hermione myself, and you'll remain sympathetic to both parties, to find out as much as you can," Paul plotted.

"About that, you need to talk to Don," Terry whined, "he still thinks you were out to get Hermione that day in the forest."

"I'm not out to get anyone, little brother. I want to know the truth, and all I know at this juncture is that this man comes here, claiming to be our brother from the future, and he tells us one thing, and then this woman comes, whom we've never met before, claiming to be our sister, and she tells us something else. Frankly, my head's spinning," Paul complained. "Furthermore, just because Nick believes Don doesn't mean squat to me."

"Nick's psychic. I think he could tell if Don's lying. I really think we should tell him we know who Ellen is. Maybe if he meets her, he can tell if she's telling the truth, because she might be lying. She might be the one trying to hurt Hermione, not our mother. Still, let's not tell mother anything, just in case what Ellen told us is true," Terry said back.

"You really think our mother is some evil witch who in the future will try to take over where Voldemort leaves off and will try to kill Hermione Granger for some odd reason? Our mother?" Paul asked.

"Yes, I think that," Terry said.

"Well, I still say, until we know for sure who's telling the truth, Ellen, who claims our mother is out to kill Hermione and Draco, or Don, who claims the evil perpetrator is Ellen, then we have to continue to trust no one, and play both sides against the middle. Above all else, protect Hermione, even if we have to protect her from Don and Draco."

"Don and Draco wouldn't hurt her," Terry said.

"We don't know anything," Paul said. "Just because that Vampire made you believe that Don and Draco are here to help, doesn't make it true. Don't trust anyone!"

"Does that include you?" Terry asked.

"Perhaps," Paul answered. Then he said, "Get me that Owl so I can send off this letter. If anyone can answer our questions, I think it's Aunt Kristina. She'll know if our mother had a child before she married Father, and if Ellen is really our sister. We'll start there, and weed through all the lies, and find out what's the truth."

Terry attached a letter to a tawny grey owl, and watched with his brother as it flew away. Paul said, "I have to go back now. Don't tell Don you saw me here."

"He'll want to ask questions of me, I'm sure. Hermione knew it was me in the village earlier, in my wolf form," Terry surmised.

"Tell him enough to answer his questions, but act as if you don't know who the panther was. Tell him it was a friend of the vampire's. Tell him anything. I don't care," Paul said.

Terry asked, "What's that?" He pointed toward one of the many opened archways in the circular tower as a black bird swooped down from the belfry and out an open window. Hermione moved her gaze to follow his hand from behind her hiding place.

Paul leaned forward and said, "It looks like a Raven. It's flying away from here. You don't suppose…no, surely not."

"We should have checked!" Terry said, pushing his brother. "It could have been anyone! They might have heard us talking!"

"It might also just be a raven. Don't worry little brother, it doesn't mean its one of the Brotherhood members. I'll be in touch and I'll see you tomorrow for Christmas Eve." He patted his brother's arm and ran down the icy stairs, careful not to slip on the way.

Terry stayed in the Owlery for what seemed like forever to Hermione. She was still crouched behind the bale of hay, she was cold, she had to sneeze, and frankly, she had to go to the toilet. Finally, she heard Terry trot down the stairs. She stood up slowly, her knees stiff from being in one position for so long.

She didn't find out much from her eavesdropping, but she did find out at least three solid things. _One_, the panther was Ellen and she was apparently here to stay since she couldn't get back to her time. _Two_, Don and Draco weren't sure who was trying to kill her anymore than Paul and Terry were sure, so she had to trust everyone and yet no one. _Three,_ something was going on with ravens. She immediately thought of the ominous poem by Edgar Allen Poe, and as she ran down the icy steps, she said one word, "Nevermore."

**Nevermore, Nevermore**

Hermione wasn't hungry, so she skipped going to the Great Hall for lunch. Well, what she really skipped was Draco meeting her at the Gryffindor tower portrait way for lunch. She decided to munch on some snacks her mother sent her instead. She was alone, sitting on a window seat in the isolated section of the lonely library, reading the poem, 'The Raven' when she heard footsteps. She looked up. It was Draco.

For some inexplicable reason, she dropped her biscuit and her book and ran to him. She threw her arms around his waist. He was just as shocked by her actions as she was. He patted her back, and was about to say something condescending, when he felt moisture on his chest from her cheek. She had been crying. Instead of saying anything at all, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and stroked her hair. He leaned his head down and placed his cheek next to hers. He kissed her cheek and said, "I don't know what's wrong, but everything will be alright."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked. He pushed her away slightly.

"I don't know," she said with a small laugh. He took her hand and led her back to her seat.

"Why didn't you meet me?" he asked.

"I needed time to think," she explained. He leaned over and picked up the book, title: "Great Poems of the English Language". He perched it on her lap.

She fiddled with the spine of the musky old book and then asked, "What is the significance of ravens in this whole mystery?"

He frowned and took the book from her hand, placed it on the floor, and then asked, "Why?"

She told him about the conversation she heard from Terry and Paul. She knew of no valid reasons to keep it secret from him. He looked both shocked and excited and then upset by her story.

"The raven is significant because all members of the Brotherhood of the Raven have to become animagus, with the raven as their animal form. The Boot brothers are double animagus, which is rare, and that's only because they are direct descendents from Ravenclaw, from both their father, and for Terry, Paul and Nick, from their mother."

"Why a raven? Is it just because of her name, Ravenclaw? The Eagle is the Ravenclaw symbol. That would be like a Gryffindor becoming a griffin instead of a lion or something," she asked.

"A Griffin is a mythical animal, and we've had this discussion before," he said with a slow smile. "I need to tell Don everything you told me. He needs to know his brothers are being duplicitous, even if they think they are acting in the best interest of everyone."

She turned away from him, with her back toward him and she leaned her forehead against the wavy glass of the window. She said, "Can we just spend a few moments together? Why is everything between us only about this mystery? Can't we just talk? Can't we just spend some time together? No one is here to see us, so we're free to be together. Don't you want to be with me?"

He sighed and ran his fingers down her spine. The feel of the wool of her sweater was soft underneath his fingertips. He said, "The first time I lived this year, I was equally obsessed, but about other, darker, well maybe not darker, but equally dark things. I know I seem obsessed about this mystery, but it concerns our lives, Hermione."

She turned back to face him. She cocked her head to the side. He continued. "When I was here before, I was given a task by the Dark Lord himself. I can't tell you that task, but remember when you saw the Dark Mark, well I took it the summer before, at the bequest of my father who's in prison. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know that the task I was given was impossible. I was meant to fail. I did fail, in a way, and it was carried out by someone else." He turned from her slightly, hung his head, and clasped his hands between his legs.

This time she let her hand rest on his back. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder. The feel of his cashmere jumper on her cheek gave her comfort. He said, "At the time, I thought I was important, and that if I did the job before me, I would be saving the face of my family. It was a man's job, I was a boy, and I was riddled with doubts and confusion that whole year. It didn't help that Potter was suspicious of me that whole year, either."

"He thinks you're a Death Eater, which I guess you are, or were," she said softly.

"I guess," he agreed. "This time, I know that it doesn't matter what I do about the task from the past, because I've already made sure everything's in place. I know I can't stop it. I can't change the future, or the past, so I'm only here to protect you."

"Hey, that reminds me," she said. She pulled on his arm and placed it around her shoulders. He smiled and enveloped her as he placed the other arm around her front and clasped his hands together. "Why did you and Don come back if you can't change anything? Can you even really protect me? You claim you're here to stop Ellen, but can you stop her?"

"She's not part of the past, and stopping her will maintain the integrity of the future, so Don believes we can," he said. He looked worried. That was the very thing that nagged at him from the beginning.

"May I say one thing?" she asked.

"You can say anything you want, little one," he said. He looked around, made sure there were no witnesses, and then he lifted her onto his lap. He nuzzled his nose to her earlobe, and then kissed her neck.

"I think that Ellen really believes she's here to stop Helena Boot, and not to hurt me, and I think that the future Paul Boot told you and Don lies to make you come to the past, and he may have even told Ellen lies to get her to come here. I think it was to get you out of the way, so that your Hermione would be left vulnerable. I tell you, it's the future that's untold here, and that's what needs protecting. I have a bad feeling about this. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am. I hope everything's okay with the future."

He held her tightly and closed his eyes and said, "So do I, little one. So do I." She turned to look at him, and he cupped her cheek and kissed her lips softly. He wouldn't lose his future. He couldn't.

* * *

_A/N: For those who don't like to read personal things about the writers, I'll warn you now so that you have the option to stop reading….for those of you who are not following my other two stories, I want to give you an update on my recent health scare. I had a tumor in my neck, and my doctor and the radiologist thought it was lymphoma, but it is benign, so that's great news! I have had two others before, also in my neck, and one in my kidney, but this time it is good news. Thanks for everyone's happy thoughts and prayers. I'll still have to have surgery to have it removed, but not right away, but after the Holidays!. Thanks again!_


	26. Part XXVI: Christmas Day

**Part XXVI:**

**Christmas Future:**

Hermione sat on the stairs to listen as Harry retold the story of the Ravens to Lucius Malfoy. Harry certainly knew how to make a dreary Christmas drearier, didn't he? She woke up this morning, realized it was Christmas and that her husband really was gone with no way of communicating with her. Also, a dead woman was apparently back from the dead and was out to get her. She seriously almost stayed in bed, even if it was Christmas day.

Her parents came last night for Christmas Eve, and they kept up their tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve, leaving the rest to be opened today. Hermione's mother got her a cashmere wrap, which was black and silver. Her father got her a new watch. She got them both picture frames. Blank picture frames. No pictures, just frames. They weren't even special, or especially nice, and Hermione didn't spend any time picking them out, in fact, she had Ron buy them for her. She didn't care about Christmas this year anyway. They unwrapped them at the same time, looked at each other oddly, smiled at her, and said, "Thank you, sweetheart" at the exact same time.

Hermione then told them that they could put a picture of the baby in them after she was born. Then she stood up and went to bed, where she stayed until this moment.

Narcissa walked by her, smiled, but didn't inquire as to why she was sitting on the stairs. Instead, she walked into the living room and said, "Hermione's up now."

Harry and Lucius both stepped out of the living room and looked at her. It had been a couple of days since the raven attack, but she still had cuts and abrasions around her face and body. Lucius winced when he saw her, but then turned around and stormed back into the other room. Harry smiled at her and said, "I'm expected at the Weasley's this morning, but I'll be back later. Do you want your Christmas present now or later?"

"I didn't get you anything," she responded.

He sat beside her and said, "Christmas is about giving, not receiving, besides, that's not what I asked."

"Give it to me later, then," she said. She leaned against his shoulder.

"No," he smiled, "I think I would rather give it to you now." He handed her a small box, tied with plain-woven string, and wrapped in plain brown paper. She took it from his outstretched hand.

"You didn't spend much on the wrapping, so the present better be good," she joked, though she didn't feel much levity. She untied the string and opened the lid. Inside was a small snow globe. Inside the snow globe was a ceramic miniature man and woman, sitting on a park bench, each holding a wrapped present. She looked somewhat confused, and then she shook the globe to watch the little snowflakes swim around the water, as if it was snowing on the couple. Then she said, "Thank you."

Harry laughed and took it from her hand. He said, "Tonight, when you're all alone, and in bed, and missing your husband, as much as I know you do, take this out and shake it back and forth three times and then say, 'there's no place like home for the holidays', will you do that for me?"

She nodded. He put it back in the box and said, "I'll take it up to your room and disapparate from there." He leaned down, kissed her head, and said, "I know this sounds empty, but have a Happy Christmas if you can, and know that I'm working hard on this case. It has all of my attention." He walked up the stairs, and she remained at the bottom. It was only a moment later that she heard Lucius call out to her.

"Hermione, please come into the living room. We want to give you your Christmas presents now."

She loathed the idea of another present. She stayed where she was, but after a moment she heard her mother say, "Please, don't be rude, Hermione. It's Christmas."

"I know its Christmas, Mother," Hermione said softly to herself.

She held onto the banister and she heard her father say, "Hermione, your mother asked you nicely, now come in here."

"Please, please, everyone leave," she also said to herself. She placed her forehead against the wood of one of the spindles and both hands held onto other spindles tightly. If they wanted her, they would have to come and pry her hands off the railing and drag her kicking and screaming from the stairs.

Finally, Narcissa walked out of the living room and stood at the bottom of the stairs. She smiled at her daughter-in-law and said, "You know, we all miss him and want him home. We're all scared and concerned for you and baby Carina." She sat down next to Hermione. "He's my only son, Hermione. I know how helpless you feel, but we're family, and we have to carry on. He did what he thought was best for his family, and we have to respect that. Come into the other room and open your presents."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can," she explained. She let go of the railings, stood up, and threw her arms around her mother-in-law. She sighed. "I want this to be over with so much. It's hard knowing he's upstairs, but not really there. It's hard to know that he's spending time with me, in the past, but I'm not spending time with him."

"I know." The older woman really did understand. She remembered missing her husband when he went away and when he did things that she didn't understand. She pried Hermione's hands from her body and said, "Why don't you just go upstairs, then. you can come down for Christmas dinner later, and we'll open our presents. Does that sound like a good compromise?"

Hermione nodded and walked up the stairs. She stopped for a moment outside of the room that Draco was now in, but decided not to visit him. It felt useless and somewhat morbid to visit an empty shell. It wasn't her husband. Not really. She made a vow that she wouldn't visit him again. Not at all. She walked into her room and knew she would never keep that vow. She would pretend she would though, at least for a day or two.

She sat on the side of the bed, picked up Harry's snow globe, and decided to see what it was all about now, instead of waiting for evening. She shook it three times, and then said, "There's no place like home for the holidays." She realized that the magic of the snow globe was ingenious, because she seriously felt as if she had just relived last Christmas, here with Draco. She lay on the bed, and smiled, remembering it as if it was happening right now.

**Christmas Past: Memories from the Snow Globe:**

Draco ran into their bedroom and said, "Hey, Granger."

She was dressing after her shower, and he was still in a towel, after his. She turned to him and said, "Happy Christmas, dear Malfoy. You better get dressed, because we have to leave soon."

"Guess what?" he asked.

"What?"

"It's Christmas," he said.

"Hence the reason I just told you Happy Christmas," she said condescendingly. "My, you are a smart one," she joked. She put on her red jumper and then slipped on her black skirt and zipped it up the side.

"Don't you know what that means?" he asked.

"That it's December 25th?" she asked coyly.

"No, it means it's time for presents," he said.

"I thought we were going to wait and open our presents later, remember? We opened our ones from my parents last night at their house. We opened the ones from your parents early this morning at your parents' house, and now, we're getting ready to go to the Burrow for Christmas lunch, and then we're coming back here, and having dinner with our families and we will open the rest of them."

He yawned a fake yawn. "You sounded like you were reading an instruction manual, just now." She hit him. Then she turned away from him to stand in front of her dresser. He came to stand behind her. His strong arms circled her body as his lips brushed against her neck. She had her hair upswept, and he couldn't resist her long, beautiful neck.

"Draco?" she asked. She wasn't sure they had time for this now, and once Draco started something, it was hard to resist him.

"Sh, little one. I have to give you your present now." He kissed her neck again, as his fingers played at the material of her sweater around her waist. His other hand came up to her neck, and pushed her tighter against him. She smiled, her arms coming up to his head. He turned her around and kissed her lips deeply, his tongue seeking out her tongue, playing softly against hers. His hand came up under her jumper and went to her bra-covered breasts. He squeezed one mound softly and she moaned.

"Is this my present?" she asked huskily.

"No, this is mine, and after I unwrap it and play with it a while, you may have yours," he said.

"We don't have time for this, Draco," she said, though she didn't stop him. He continued to stroke her breasts, softly, as his mouth played across the skin of her cheek. He dropped his towel, picked her up, and headed for the bed. She started to protest, and to silence her he placed his mouth back on hers. He lifted his mouth long enough to unzip the skirt she had just zipped into place.

"Draco," she began again, though she knew it was futile.

"Sh," he insisted for the second time. He removed her skirt, her knickers, her sweater and her bra and she neither helped nor stopped him…because frankly, she wanted to be at his mercy. She liked it, at least this time. His muscles shifted over her body as he positioned his weight to settle on top of her. Her hands went to his strong back and she urged him closer as his mouth found her breasts, and he kissed and nibbled.

Without warning, or pretense, he entered her. She was so soft and warm to him, so willing, yielding without protest, that he really wondered what he had done to deserve such a wonderful gift. He stroked back and forth, rocking gently on her body, his arms holding his weight from her. She bent both knees and urged him closer with her arms around his back. He fell slightly on top of her, and lifted one of her knees, and held it in the crook of his arm, so that he could get closer still. He bent his head and kissed her nipples again, and then he looked at her. Though her eyes were closed, she was actually smiling.

She arched her back, and he thrust into her harder. He kissed her again, she kissed him, and then he lifted his head and concentrated at his task, which was to give her one of the best Christmas presents ever. He reached between their bodies, found her opening, pressed on it, she opened her eyes with a start, and he said, "Happy Christmas, Darling!"

He forced her to come when he did, by that single action, but it wasn't over, not by a long shot. He kept coming, in spasm after spasm, and they had their most intense, mutual orgasm together, that they had ever had. He remained on top of her as long as he could, and then he relaxed and fell beside her. She reached for his arm, and pulled herself over to lie on his chest.

He rubbed her back and he repeated his sentiment from earlier. "Happy Christmas, little one."

"Was that really my present?" she laughed, "because I have to tell you, I've had the same present from you before, so it's nothing new and exciting, but I do understand why you couldn't give it to me tonight with our parents present."

"You're so quaint," he said, smiling. "That wasn't really my present to you," and then he leaned over her and reached for something on the bedside table. He threw a medium sized, wrapped package on her bare stomach. She started to open it but he put his hand on hers and said, "Wait, get dressed first."

"Why?"

"Get dressed first, and then open it," he repeated. They both cleaned themselves up, dressed and then Draco came out of the closet with two large suitcases. She glared at him, as if asking him what was going on, and he said, "Open it now."

She walked over to the bed, where she placed the package, and opened it. Inside was a book. She picked it up and as soon as she did, he ran over, placed both bags in one hand, and held onto the book, placing his hand beside hers. They both whirled around, and she immediately knew that the book was a portkey of some type.

**Christmas Present: Hermione and Draco at Hogwarts:**

Hermione and Draco sat in Don Boot's office, in a large chair together by the fireplace, after opening their presents to each other. They were talking about their best Christmases and Draco had just relayed the story of last Christmas to her.

"And I didn't know it was a portkey?" she asked.

"No, and when we arrived at Don Boot's cabin, you reminded me that your memories of the place were less than happy, because we once had to hide there during the troubles the year with Helena Boot. I threw the luggage down and reminded you that what really mattered was that we were going to spend the day completely alone, completely together, with no parents, no interruptions, just you and me. You liked that. We went outside and picked out a tree, we decorated it, cooked a Christmas dinner of chicken and potatoes, and then we made love by the fireplace."

Hermione blushed and Draco reached over and touched her cheek. She said, "That does sound like a nice Christmas. I wonder what type of Christmas the future me is having this year, without you."

Draco had been wondering that as well. "Life does seem unfair, does it not? I have you and you have me, but in the future, Hermione is alone and who knows what's going on with my empty body."

"Maybe I put you in the corner and decorated you with lights for Christmas," she said with a smile.

"You really are so quaint," he said, repeating what he told her 'in the future'. She giggled.

He held her on his lap for a while longer, stroking her back, her arms, and her hands. He desired her as much as always, but he couldn't cross that line with her. She was young, only 17 years old, and though his body was that of 16 year-old Draco, his mind was of a man, and he wouldn't feel right. Finally, she looked up to his eyes and said, "When everyone comes back, we'll have to go back to being enemies."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact. "It's just as well." He held her tighter and said, "You know, when this is all over, you won't even remember me. I mean, you'll remember Draco Malfoy, and that he's a slimy git, and that you hate his guts, but that's about it."

She pushed slightly away from him and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The way Don explained the magic to me, is that since we really can't change the future, because of the blue moon, once we go back to our time, nothing for you will have changed. You won't remember that you loved me. You won't fall in love with me until Hogwarts, our eighth year. Maybe that's where the term, 'Once in a blue moon,' comes from, I don't know."

She was still frowning.

He asked, "Didn't you know that?"

"How would I know that?" she asked. She stood from his lap. "Are you sure?"

"Well, not totally, but that's the assumption," he explained. He tried to act blasé about the whole thing, but secretly, he had been trying to find the right time and place to tell her this. He knew Hermione, and he knew that she would not be happy with this news, but he also really thought she would have already figured it out.

"Why come then here at all then?" she inquired softly.

"Because, though you won't remember me, I can still protect you. That was always my goal. I have to protect you now, to protect my future, which is also you," Draco said sincerely.

She had always suspected something of this sort, but she didn't really believe it, until now, when he confirmed her fears. She sat down on the hearth of the fireplace, and drew her knees up to her chin. "Will you remember this time, our time together?"

"I think so," he said. "I should go back to the future, and time will have elapsed. Hermione will have, I mean, you will have had our child, and it will be months later, but for you, all of our time here will be erased. I believe time will have still past, but you won't recall any of this. I think the past will be intact, and like it was before. You'll go back to being Hermione Granger, sixth year student at Hogwarts, with Harry Potter as your best friend, Ron Weasley as your secret crush. You'll see Draco Malfoy, and you'll hate him."

She placed her head on her knees and closed her eyes. He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I don't think I could ever hate you," she said in hushed tones.

He gave a false laugh and said, "Believe me; I'll do plenty of things that will make you hate me. By the end of this year, I'll do something so vile, that you'll downright despise me." He grew silent. He kissed the top of her head.

"You once said this was the worst year for you to return, and I haven't really thought about that until now. I'm sorry this is so hard for you. I know you can't tell me why you regard this year as your worst, but I hope it's worth it, coming back I mean," she said, not looking up at him. He gave her a smile, which she didn't see, and he stroked her hair again, and then kissed her head.

"It may not be worth it, but you are."

"Tell me when I told you that I loved you for the first time," she asked. She sat up to look at him, and turned her body slightly to face him.

"You mean this year?" he joked, feigning ignorance.

"No, during our eighth year," she pleaded.

"Well, I told you that I loved you first, but you didn't tell me until a bit later, and even then, you just assumed I should know," he said with a bit of a laugh. "I was giving you an anatomy lesson, and you told me."

She gave his a stiff smile and said, "An anatomy lesson, huh?"

"Truthfully," he said. "You were a quick learner, and then you reminded me that you were a virgin, and I told you that I wasn't in a hurry, and then I told you that I had already told you that I loved you, but if you weren't ready to say it yet, that was fine. Then you said that you thought you had already told me, and I told you that only two people had ever told me that they loved me, and that they were both in prison, so I would remember if you had said it. You threw your arms around me, and said, "Well I do. I love you." And I was yours, forever more."

She smiled. That was a nice memory. She was curious when he revealed that the only two people who had said that they loved him were in prison during their eighth year. That must mean that Harry was victorious. He must defeat Voldemort. She would file that piece of information away for later. She picked up his hand and said, "This is my best Christmas so far, Draco."

"I'm glad, Hermione."

* * *

_(A/N: Merry Christmas everyone – I will get back to point of the story in the next chapter, but it might be a week or two away. I just wanted a lighter chapter, but I still think it moved the story along. The next chapter will have a bit of action.)_


	27. Part XXVII: New Years

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXVII: The New Year **

**The New Year:**

Hermione and Draco spent every spare moment of their break together. Knowing that their unfettered time together was to be short lived, they didn't want to waste a moment of it worrying about the danger that she was in or the events unfolding outside of the castle walls. Nothing sinister transpired, a fact that was appreciated by them both. The holidays were over now, though. When the day arrived for everyone to return to Hogwarts, they decided that they had to go back to being circumspect, so Hermione and Draco said their goodbyes that morning and went their separate ways. For Hermione, that way happened to be in the direction of Hagrid's hut

She was coming back from his cabin when she saw Harry and Ron walking toward the castle upon their return. She had been anxiously waiting for their return. She ran toward them and threw her arms around first Ron's neck, and then Harry's.

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" she asked.

"Did you?" Harry asked back without answering.

"Yes, I did." She didn't want to fight again. She decided to change the subject. "I was just visiting with Hagrid and Buck…I mean, Witherwings. You should go down and say hello to them."

"We will, but first Hermione, I talked to Lupin about Malfoy," Harry said. "I told him about his conversation with Snape after Slughorn's party, about the unbreakable vow, how he mentioned he was here on a mission, and how he seems attached to you. He agrees with me that there's something going on that's not right, and that his mission probably has something to do with Voldemort."

"Please, are we still going on about that?" Hermione asked.

Ron decided to put in his thoughts on the subject. "My dad agrees and said that Malfoy's probably working for the Dark Lord."

"He's not," Hermione defended, although she wasn't completely sure of that herself. She was going to have to carry on hiding her relationship with Malfoy, so the boys wouldn't continue to be suspicious. She said, "Besides, he didn't even bother me once during the holiday." She decided that statement wasn't a lie, since he didn't technically 'bother her'. They spent almost every spare moment together, but not once did he 'bother her'.

She took a note out of her pocket and said, "Enough about Malfoy. I have a note for you from Dumbledore, Harry. It's regarding your next lesson."

Harry took the note from her and said, "Excellent." The three went back down to Hagrid's cabin, and neither Harry nor Ron mentioned Malfoy again for the rest of the day.

After a long visit with Hagrid, the three walked up to the castle. Once in the Great Hall, Lavender ran up to an annoyed Ron, who smiled at his friends and walked away. Harry caught Hermione cast her glance toward the floor and said, "That doesn't still bother you does it?"

"A bit," she said truthfully, although she wasn't sure why it bothered her. She no longer felt the same way for Ron. She was now in love with Draco.

"Tell me what you did here all by yourself during the holidays," Harry asked. They walked up toward Gryffindor tower, and when she didn't answer right away, he put his hand on her arm to turn her slightly, as the stairs they were on moved. "Hermione?"

"I read, I caught up on homework, and that was about it," she said. She didn't catch his glare, because she knew he would be able to tell that she was lying. He didn't say anymore about it.

Later that night, when his lesson with Dumbledore was through, he relayed the events privately to Hermione and Ron in the empty common room. Ron asked, "How are you supposed to get the memory from Slughorn?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"You need to just be honest with him. Try to get it without any tricks, and you won't find the answer in the half-blood prince's book, Harry." Hermione took the book out of his hands when he started to flip through the page.

Harry stood up and said, "Well maybe you could just ask your Death Eater boyfriend to get the memory for me. Or better yet, ask him if he knows what a Horcrux is!" Harry took the book back from Hermione and he walked upstairs.

Ron sat beside Hermione and gave her hand a pat. "Sorry about that, but he went on and on about Malfoy all during the break," Ron told her. "He's even taken to watching the Marauder's map to see if he can catch what he's up to."

"I don't care about that," Hermione said. "But what is a Horcrux? I've never heard of it before." She stood up and said, "Maybe I'll go do some research."

"Hermione," Ron pleaded, "It's after curfew! The library's closed."

"I'm not going to the library."

Hermione walked to Professor Boot's office. She knocked on the door. When no one answered, she let herself into the room. He was asleep at his desk. Although his head was on his arms, and his eyes closed, he was not having a fitful sleep. He was mumbling, almost as if he was having a conversation with someone. Hermione leaned down and touched his arm.

He sat up, startled. "What are you doing here, Hermione?"

"Is everything alright, Professor Boot?" Hermione asked.

He nodded and then reiterated, "What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"I wanted to ask you a question," she explained.

"You shouldn't be out at night by yourself," he rebuked, and then he pointed to an empty chair.

Hermione sat down and decided to come right to the point, "What's a Horcrux?"

Don couldn't help but laugh. This was the moment that Draco and Don had been dreading, but now he thought it was funny. He kneeled beside her chair and said, "Sweetheart, I can't tell you that, and you aren't to ask Draco, but I promise you, Harry will find out and it will help you defeat the Dark Lord. Don't ask that question again, and I stress that you especially don't ask Draco. This is a rough year for him, and not only because of the events that he's being made to repeat by coming back here, but more so because he's away from his wife and child. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? It's important." He stood back up and then said, "Come on, I'll walk you back up to your room."

He smiled at her again and took her hand. For some reason, his answered mollified her. She knew he wouldn't lie to her, and so she knew that Harry would find out that memory from Slughorn. They walked down the dark, deserted hallway, toward the stairs, when all of the torch lights on the walls extinguished at once.

Don drew Hermione to his side and said, "Get out your wand." She did. He put her slightly behind him, and pressed them both against the wall. He put his wand out in front of him, lit it at once, and called out, "Who's there?"

**The New Year Part II – The Future:**

Hermione and Ron were in the baby's nursery. He was doing yet more manual labour for her, but he didn't care. He would indulge her, after all, she was ready to have her baby soon, and she was in a fragile state due to her wayward husband. But seriously, it was 10:00 at night, and she wanted him to put a crib together, with screwdrivers at that! She said, "No magic, allowed." So here he was putting the stupid thing together in a less than dignified fashion, and she was barking orders right and left.

"Ron, I don't think that slat goes there," she said to him as he sat on the floor, pieces and parts all around him. She leaned over him, instructions in hand and said, "See, it says slat 'D' goes into rail 'A'.

Ron threw the screwdriver across the room and said, "Just let me use magic, Hermione!"

"No, this is sort of a right of passage. A young married couple puts their baby's first crib together with each other, although the way you're doing it, the baby will be in a toddler's bed before you get it built," she complained.

He stood up and said, "Well, we aren't a young married couple! We're friends and wizards!"

Hermione took a step back, and she dropped the instructions from her hand, a shocked expression on her face. Harry stood in the doorway and he said with anger, "Ron, I'll finish the crib. Go home."

"Listen, Hermione," Ron said, his hands extended toward her, "I'm sorry."

"Put it together however you want." She sat in a rocking chair in the corner. "Use magic, Ron. That's fine with me. It doesn't matter, just as long as it's put together, right?"

Ron looked at Harry and then back to Hermione. "I'll put it together the Muggle way," Ron promised. He sat back down and tried to find slate 'D' to put into rail 'A'.

Harry stood beside her chair and said, "Are you okay?"

She frowned and then said, "First, I'm tired of that question. Second, I have a pain."

"A pain named Ron Weasley?" he asked with a smile.

"I think it's a labour pain."

Ron threw the screwdriver down again and jumped up to join Harry in front of her chair. "When did this start?" Ron quizzed.

"About four hours ago, but the pain just came and went, so I wasn't too concerned," Hermione said. She looked up at her friends and said, "Do you think I'm in labour? The baby's not due until the 19th of this month."

"And women never go into labour two weeks early!" Ron said sarcastically.

Harry hit his arm and then said to Hermione, "Perhaps we should get you to St. Mungos."

She shook her head and said, "I don't want to have this baby without Draco."

"Too bad, because it'll come without him, whether you want it to or not," Harry told her derisively.

Two hours later, all of Hermione's friends and relatives sat in the waiting room at St. Mungos when Nick Boot entered the lobby. He made a gesture to Harry, who stood and joined him in the hall.

"I sent a psychic message to Don that Hermione was having the baby. I hope he got it. I felt a very strong connection to him, and I was certain he was sleeping when I sent it, but then the connection was suddenly broken."

"Maybe he just woke up," Harry surmised.

"I hope that's all it was," Nick stated. Harry thought he seemed worried and was about to ask him if he knew something that he didn't know, when Nick asked, "How's Hermione?"

"She's having the baby, but she won't allow anyone in there with her. Not even her mum," Harry explained. "Lucius is livid, as if she would let him in there. I really did think she would want at least Ron or me with her."

"She wants Draco," Nick concluded, stating the obvious.

A healer walked toward the waiting room. Harry and Nick entered the room behind him. He told the crowd of people, "She delivered a baby girl. The baby's fine and healthy. However, the mother is having some difficulties."

It seemed that everyone stood at the exact same time. Hermione's mother approached the man first and said, "I'm her mother. What's wrong with her?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's nothing medical, but she refuses to see her baby. She's uncooperative and incommunicable. She said that she has to tell the father about the baby before she sees it, but it's our understanding that the father is away, isn't that correct? We have a special healer, who deals with psychiatric problems, seeing her right now. The grandparents can come with me and see the baby."

Everyone in the room looked at each other. They all knew the reason for her problem. Nick Boot snuck carefully out of the room. He walked down the hallway and after entering three different rooms, he found Hermione's room. She was in a bed, her face toward the wall, and a little old witch was talking to her, not with her. Hermione wasn't saying a word.

Nick walked closer to the bed, and the healer looked up at him. He said, "May I try? I'd like to talk with her."

The healer smiled and nodded before she left the room.

Nick walked over to the other side of the bed, sat on the side, and placed his hand under Hermione's chin, forcing her to look at him. He said, "Together we're going to let Draco know that he's a father, and then you're going to hold your new baby."

She nodded.

"Close your eyes, Hermione. I've never tried to do this before, but since you've communicated with him before, and your connection is strong with him, we might be able to pull this off," Nick explained.

Hermione hadn't been able to communicate with Draco since that first time, but she closed her eyes, and focused all her energy on her husband in the past. This was something she needed to do before she saw her new baby. She had to tell him that he was a father.

**The New Year, Part III:**

Draco was sleeping soundly, when he suddenly started to dream. He dreamt he was in a long passageway and he was floating toward a silhouette at the end of the long hallway. There was fog and soft lighting all around him. When he reached the end of the hall, he saw his wife. He reached for her, but she held up her hand for him to stop.

"Our baby was born tonight. Little Carina. I haven't held her yet, but she looks beautiful," Draco heard her say.

"Our baby was born?" Draco asked.

"Yes, just a half an hour ago," she confirmed.

"I wish I was there."

"I do, too."

"I miss you," he said.

"I miss you, too," she copied.

"Are you okay?"

"Did you know that Nick and Harry now believe that I'm in as much danger here as I am in the past? You shouldn't have left me Draco. They think that the person who wants to hurt me wanted to get you out of the way. That was their plan all along."

He ran toward the figure, to tell her that he was sorry, but it suddenly disappeared. He woke up with a start. He looked around his dorm room, and the other three Slytherin's were still sleeping. He slipped on his clothes and quietly left his room and then his dorm. He had to find Don Boot. He had to find out if Don had heard from Nick. He had to know for certain if he was a father, but more than anything, he had to have someone tell him that coming back here wasn't a mistake!

He walked through the dungeons and then up several floors to find Don's office empty. He stepped back out of the room, just as all the lights in that hallway extinguished. He lit his wand and started down the hallway, turning down the corridor that would take him to the stairs. That was when he saw Don Boot, pressed up against the wall, and behind him, he saw Hermione.

Draco hid back around the corner, because there was another figure in front of them. This person's back was toward him, so he couldn't tell who it was. However, Don didn't seem scared or upset. In fact, he saw Don move from in front of Hermione, and then he saw Hermione reach out and take the person's hand. Whoever it was, it was someone Don trusted. Draco started down the hall toward the three, when a flash of white light blinded him. He ducked his head, and when he looked back up, Don Boot was on the ground and Hermione and the man were both gone.

He ran toward Don and kneeled beside him. "Don, wake up! Where's Hermione? Who was that man?"

Don sat up and shook his head. "Give me a second." He scooted up toward the wall, and struggled to stand, with Draco's hand on his arm. "That was Nick. There's a problem. There's a breach in the school, and he found out about it."

"A breech, what do you mean?" Don asked.

Don explained, "Draco, in the past, you didn't have the cabinet fixed this early in the year, did you?"

"No, not yet, but what does that matter? I have more important things to do this go round, and since I already knew how to fix it, I decided to get it over with, so it's ready for the blasted Death Eaters." Draco realized what Don meant suddenly, and he said, "Have they already entered? No! It's not time!"

"They haven't entered, but it seems that Ellen must know about this. Well, everyone in the future who knows how Dumbledore dies knows that you were a party to that, and that you fixed the cabinet that was used to allow the Death Eaters into the castle," Don stated. "Nick believes that the cabinet has been used all along as a way for our enemy to enter the school. He also says that he doesn't think Ellen is the one that's trying to harm her, but anyway, it means that Hermione's not safe even here."

Draco could barely process that information. Instead, he asked again, "Where is Hermione?"

"Nick took her somewhere safe, but they're still here in the castle. Nick said that he was watching the other cabinet at Borgin and Burkes, under an invisibility charm, because he was frightened of something like this, when he saw Ellen, plain as day, enter the cabinet, along with my brother Paul. He immediately followed. He didn't know if the cabinet would bring him here or not, but it did, which means they're here, somewhere in the castle. He took her to the Headmaster. Nick thinks it's time we told Dumbledore everything, I'm afraid. He also said that even though he saw Ellen, he didn't think it was her. I don't know what he meant by that statement."

"Why did you pass out? What was that bright light?" Draco asked anxiously.

"It was Nick's way of being dramatic, I assume. Nick didn't know it was you that was slinking down the hallway, so he did that as a means to get away with Hermione. Why were you slinking down the halls, by the way?"

"I wasn't slinking! Malfoys don't slink! I was trying to find you!" Draco shouted. "By the way, I had a dream that Hermione came to me and said that my baby was born." He said is without reflection or emotion.

Don put his hand on Draco's shoulder and said, "I had that same dream, only in mine Nick came to me and told me the same thing, right before this Hermione came to me and asked me what a Horcrux was."

Draco shut his eyes and said, "Damn." He was a father, he couldn't see his wife or baby, this Hermione had finally asked about a Horcrux, and to top off everything else, without meaning to, he did things differently and he fixed the cabinet early, and now this Hermione was in even greater danger, and it was entirely his fault. The Hermione from his dream was right to rake him over the coals…he shouldn't have left her and he shouldn't have come back here.

* * *

_(A/N: Happy New Year Everyone! I know this story is slow, but the next chapter is done and I'll send it to my wonderful beta tomorrow. I have this story completely outlined, and it should finish up nicely, and perhaps be finished in another month or so. Thanks!)_


	28. Part XXVIII

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXVIII:**

**Hermione can trust Nick Boot:**

"The headmaster's rooms are this way," Hermione said, pointing toward a hallway to their left, as Nick Boot headed them down a corridor to their right.

"We aren't really going there," Nick said. "I just told Don that. I do feel it's important to tell Professor Dumbledore what's going on here, so I have an appointment to meet with him tomorrow morning, but alone."

Hermione frowned. "Where are we going, then, and why would you have to meet the headmaster alone?"

"Because some of the things I have to tell him I don't want Draco and Don to know about, and we're going someplace quiet, because I do want you to know them." He held out his hand, and she frowned again, but took it. For some reason, she trusted this man that she barely knew.

They walked down hallway after hallway; climbed stairs that Hermione didn't even know existed, and when they reached an old wooden door that was painted blue, she said, "Where does this lead?"

"It's a private chamber used only by Ravenclaws. I haven't been here since I was in school, but I assume it's still in use. You'll have to answer a riddle to enter," he explained, "but you should have no problems with that."

Nick picked up a rusted knocker that was on the door and knocked it against the wood three times. Words appeared above their heads, animated in the air. The question posed to Nick was: _"What is yours, but you seldom use it, your friends use it more than you, yet it doesn't belong to them."_

Nick smiled at Hermione and said, "I get an easy one." She smiled as well, because she also knew the answer. Nick said, to no one in particular, but aloud, "Your name." The door opened. He crossed the threshold and said, "Knock like I did, and answer the question. I'll be right here on the other side. Two people can't enter at once."

Hermione waited for him to close the door and then she reached up for the knocker, knocked it against the wood three times, and a riddle formed in words floating around her head. She read the words: _"I am unknown to the unconscious, unwanted by the young, and sought out by the oldest of them all…what am I?"_ She didn't really like this riddle, but the answer was easy. She said, "Death." The door opened, Nick stood on the other side, and she entered. She shut the door behind her and said, "Riddles as passwords?"

"Yes, that's how we had to enter Ravenclaw tower, too," Nick explained. "Once, when I was in second year, I tried three different riddles, couldn't answer a one, and the portrait finally got so disgusted with me that she told me it would do me good to get locked out all night."

Hermione laughed and said, "That's awful!"

"That's where being psychic comes in handy. Don was in seventh year, and I thought really hard to him, and he finally found me on the floor by the passage, fast asleep. He crudely kicked me in the side, not hard naturally, scolded me for being out so late, and then helped me up to my dorm."

"Don seems really nice," Hermione answered. He raised his eyebrows and she amended, "Well, not the kicking you in the side part, but besides that."

Nick got a serious expression and said, "He's the best brother ever. Hermione, the thing is, I've been having the worst dreams lately, and I hope they don't come true, but my dreams usually do." He motioned to her to sit on a small settee in the corner, by a large, stone fireplace. She sat down and he lit the fireplace. He turned to look in the fire, and then sat beside her.

She placed her hand on his arm. "Please continue."

"Oh, Hermione, I'm afraid that my brother Don is going to die in this time. I mean, he can't, can he? If they truly traveled with the protection of the blue moon, then he can't really die, but that's what I keep seeing. That's what I can't tell him, and that's what I have to tell the headmaster. I'm hoping Dumbledore will know more about the magic of the blue moon than I know, so I can be sure that he won't be able to die in this time."

"Oh, Nick, I hope so, too," she said.

"There's something else I need to tell you, which I haven't told Don or Draco," he said.

"What?"

"I can communicate with my future self. I don't know how I do it, and I haven't always been able to do it, but since Don and Draco came back, and put all of this into the forefront, now I can, and it's scary, because the future me has told me things that I hope aren't true."

"Like what?"

He bent his head and placed his hands over his face. He seemed close to tears. "Oh, Hermione, my brother Paul isn't to be trusted."

"This Paul, or the future Paul?" she asked.

"They are one and the same," he explained. "I've been watching him closely, ever since I started to have this feeling, and now I know my suspicions are true."

"You mean he came back to the past with Draco and Don, without them knowing it?" she asked.

"I mean that he came back before they did," he said.

**Hermione can't trust Paul Boot:**

"No, you're wrong," she said slowly. "Draco explained this to me, and originally, Paul and Don wanted to come back, but Draco came in Paul's place. Anyway, if Paul came to the past, wouldn't his body be an empty, lifeless vessel, just like Draco and Don's bodies? Wouldn't all of the people in the future notice something like that?"

"They would, if he was using the same magic that they're using, but he's not. He stole the ancient book of spells written by Rowena Ravenclaw. He told everyone that Ellen took it, but I know that he did. He also stole the book that had the anti-curses in it. He replaced that one with a false book, so the Brotherhood members who are guarding it wouldn't know."

She started to ask how he knew this, but he answered, "I told myself this, as odd as that sounds. I also know that in the future, Paul tried to kidnap Hermione, well, you, several months back, while you were staying at Malfoy Manor. When it was discovered, he went on the run, and hasn't been heard from since. Our father implored the future me to try to find him, and I guess I did. I found that he had been traveling back and forth, all of this time, but not just by spirit or consciousness. His body is actually traveling back and forth - his consciousness and his body."

"Wouldn't that mean that sometimes there are two Paul's in our time now?" she asked.

"I don't even know how to explain that one, but I'm trying to figure it out. Maybe there's only one. Maybe the future Paul replaces the Paul of our time. There's more…" he started only to stop. He stood up and went to stare in the fire.

She stood beside him. "Please, tell me what else you know or suspect?"

"Don said that you told Draco that you think the panther is Ellen?"

"Yes, well, that's just conjecture, but that's what I'm assuming," she leveled. "Do you know who it is?"

"It's not Ellen, at least it's not the future Ellen, I should clarify." He turned to her. "Ellen's still really in her own time. She's deep in a coma and only my future self and the future Harry Potter is aware of that fact. She never traveled back in time. Her body isn't a _lifeless, empty vessel_." He used the same terminology that she had just used. "Future Nick saw a spark of life, and the thing is, I would think that Paul would have known that I would have figured that out, but that doesn't matter. Paul lied about Ellen stealing the book of spells, and about going back in time. He's used some curse of some sort to put her into the coma. The panther concerns me, because when I was younger, my mother turned into a panther, at least once that I know of, and only I know this. Paul doesn't know that I know, and as far I recall, even my mother doesn't know that I know."

"How do you know that?" Hermione questioned. She sat back on the settee.

He stood in front of her and said, "I saw it in a vision. When I was young, just a teenager, I came upon a locket that belonged to my father's first wife. While holding this locket, I saw my mother kill someone and she was a panther." He paused for a long moment and then finished. "She didn't just kill someone, she killed Don's mother that way. It happened before I was born, but I know that's how it happened, I just know it. Don doesn't even know that. Only my father, my mother, and I know the way that Don's mother died."

Hermione felt a constriction across her chest. "Helena Boot isn't Don's mother? I guess Draco told me that once, but I forgot about it."

"Has no one told you this story?" Nick asked.

"No," she said plainly.

"It's not really my story to tell. It's involved, and it has to do with the future, and a prophecy that I had, about the four founders, and you and Draco and Don, but I don't want to reveal too much of the future to you. Ask Don, if you must, but don't tell him what we've discussed here, but more importantly, don't trust Paul, the panther, that vampire, or even Terry."

"Terry?"

"I don't think my little brother is evil in any way, shape, or form, but I do think he's being duped by both Paul and my mother. I know that Terry said that someone named Ellen came to him, claiming to be our sister, but I don't know who that might have been. It might have been the Ellen from this time. Perhaps our mother has been in contact with her, and she's helping them, but it's not the future Ellen."

"You have to understand something, Hermione," Nick said, suddenly more somber, as he grabbed her arms and pulled her up to stand in front of him, "My mother is, and always was, a horrible woman, although on the outside, she plays nice, if you understand. My father's blind to her faults. Don thinks only the best about everyone, although he knows what she's capable of doing. Paul's the most like her, so she loves him, and he loves her. Terry is the baby, and if my mother ever knew how to love anyone, besides herself and Paul, she loved Terry. She's never loved me. She fears me. She's jealous of my gift, because she knows it's greater than hers. I don't know if she ever cared for Ellen or not. I would say no, since she gave her away when she was a baby, so she could marry my father."

"The thing is, Hermione, I always knew what she was and what she were capable of, because I inherited her psychic ability, but my power is so much stronger than hers. I can read into her mind, but she could never read into mine. That's always played to my advantage. I can act as if I love a woman whom I secretly fear and despise. That's playing to my advantage right now, because she doesn't know that I know about Don and Draco coming back in time. She wants something evil and sinister here, and I think it's more than revenge for the fact that she blames Terry's future death on you and Draco, and it has to do with more than the fact that you're the eventual cause of her own death. Please, stay away from the panther."

"I will," she said, "but we should tell Don and Draco at least about Paul and your mother. Don't you think?"

"You do what you think is best," he said. He looked at his watch and said, "My appointment with the headmaster is in a few hours, first thing tomorrow morning. I think I'll catch some sleep here in this room. Do you want me to walk you back to your tower? Wait…" he said. "No reason. Don and Draco are right outside the door now. Draco won't be able to enter, but Don is about to come in as we speak."

"You _are_ a good psychic," she said in wonder.

"Well, yes, but I also have very good hearing, and I hear them arguing outside the door," he said with a laugh. Just then, the door opened and Don entered.

"I thought I might find you two in here," Don said. "Draco tried to enter before me, but he got his riddle wrong and the room won't give him another chance to enter, and he's madder than hell."

Hermione grinned, and asked, "What was his riddle?"

"If you're in a room with an all southern exposure, and a bear walks by, what colour is the bear," Don said, smiling.

"White," Hermione and Nick answered together. They laughed and then Hermione said, "What was his answer."

"He said, 'What the hell is a bear doing walking in front of a window?' and then I guess the door wouldn't open for him, even though he eventually said 'brown'."

"Brown?" Hermione said, astonished. "But an all southern exposure would mean the North Pole!"

Don shrugged and said, "Let Draco walk you back to your dorm, Hermione, because it's late, and I think I need to talk with my brother alone."

Hermione looked at Don's face and then to Nick's. Nick looked worried, but more than that, he looked weary. Hermione walked up to Don, placed her arms around his waist, and hugged him tightly. She looked up into his surprised gaze, saw what she considered one of the kindest, sweetest, men she had ever known, and she hoped that Nick Boot wasn't a good psychic after all, because she didn't want anything to happen to this man.

"What is it?" he asked, surprised by her sudden display of affection.

"Nothing, I'm just glad you came here this year," she said. "I'm glad I got to know you, no matter the circumstances." She hugged him once more, in which he patted her back, and then she walked to the door, opened it, saw Draco standing outside, and she said to him, "Brown? You thought the bear was brown?"

**Hermione doesn't know if she can trust Draco or not to trust Draco:**

Draco didn't comment. He merely took her hand and started to drag her down the hall. She finally pulled against his hand and said, "What's your problem?"

"Why are you out by yourself, at night no less?" Draco asked as he spun around.

"I had to ask Don Boot a question, and then Nick had some things to explain to me. He's going to the headmaster tomorrow," Hermione explained.

"You seem cozy with Nick Boot suddenly," Draco spat. The truth was that he was always jealous of their closeness, in the future, and now in the past. He took her hand again, roughly, and added, "Come on!"

"Stop pulling on me," she said, although this time she couldn't get out of his grasp if she tried. He was taking such long strides that she practically had to run to keep up with him.

"Draco, stop!"

He spun around. He pushed her against a wall in the abandoned, dark passageway, and said, "We had our baby tonight!"

She didn't know what to say to that. She also didn't know what that had to do with why he was so irritated. Shouldn't he be happy, elated, overjoyed…or yet, sad? She understood. He missed 'his' wife and didn't get to see their child born.

"I'm sorry that you aren't at home, Draco."

He took a deep breath. He let his head dip to rest on her heaving shoulders. "Hermione, I've made such a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. You visited me in a dream, told me about our child, and then you gave me hell for leaving you, and you told me that you're in more danger in the future than now."

She wrapped her hands around his waist. She leaned her head against his chest. "Draco, Nick told me that Paul Boot isn't to be trusted. He thinks that he orchestrated all of this, not Ellen, and he says that his mother may be the panther."

Draco pushed her away. He had never trusted Paul Boot. "Then Paul is back in my time with you. You were right, you're in more danger there than here."

"Well, the danger might be equal in both places, because Nick seems to think that Paul's traveling back and forth through time, under a different spell than the one that you're using," she explained.

He let out an angry expletive, and then he grabbed her hand. He needed to get her to her dorm immediately, and then he had to go disable the stupid cabinet, until the real time to fix it came.

She could tell he was troubled. She put her hand on his cheek. This made him even angrier, and he wasn't sure why. He didn't deserve her pity or empathy! His Hermione was angry with him, and that was what he deserved. He pushed her hand off his cheek.

She tried to put it back, but he swatted it away again, and then he pushed her roughly away from him.

"Draco?" she asked.

He put his hand on her neck and pulled her to him. Then, in his frustration, he kissed her, because he couldn't think of anything else to do. He kissed her hard. She placed her hands on his chest and tried to push him away. After his kiss, he kept his hand on the back of her neck and pushed her along the corridor, slightly ahead of him. "We can't see each other any longer. I'll continue to protect you, but I have to stop changing history. I fixed the cabinet too soon, and now you're not even safe inside the castle."

She tried to turn, but his hold on her neck was tight. "What cabinet?"

He pulled her to a stop again, pushed her into the wall once more, angry with her, for no real reason, when he was actually angry with himself, and he practically shouted, "The cabinet I fixed that let all the Death Eaters enter the school! That's my dark secret this year, Hermione! That's my task! That and the fact that I have to kill the headmaster! The Dark Lord wants me to kill the headmaster!"

Hermione wrenched out of his grasp and backed away from him. "What?"

"I'm a fucking Death Eater! I fix a cabinet, which connects the school to Knockturn Alley! I'm the reason the headmaster is killed this year! That's right! He dies!"

She looked as if someone hit her. She continued to back away.

"Are you going to tell your precious Potter?" he asked, still angry.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"What difference does it make?" he hissed. "I've already messed everything up! I'm here, reliving the same madness, when I should be home with my wife and baby! I shouldn't be here with you! I'm not able to protect you, now or in the future. The only thing I'm good for is messing things up!"

She didn't know what to say. What could someone say to such statements, such madness? She continued to back away from him. She turned and started running down the hall. She turned a corner, and ran right into someone's chest. She screamed.

Draco ran after her, and when he turned the corner, he saw Harry Potter, wand drawn, Hermione behind his back. He had his wand in one hand, and that damn marauders map in the other. Draco skidded to a halt and said, "Damn!"

"Leave her alone, Malfoy."

Hermione had her arms tightly around Harry's waist. She was silently weeping, with her head pressed into his back. Good, he scared her. This was how it was should be. He took out his wand and said, "Remember everything I told you, Granger, but don't tell anyone! You're life depends on it!" He glared at Harry and said, "Put your wand away, Potter. You'll need it for another day, believe me." He huffed and turned around and stormed toward the Room of Requirement, to break the damn cabinet in which he had already fixed.

Harry turned toward Hermione and said, "Did he hurt you?"

"How did you know where to find me?" she asked.

"The map. I've been watching it see what Malfoy is up to, and I saw him with you. What happened? Why were you alone with him?" he asked.

She didn't know what to tell him. Finally, she thought a part of the truth would suffice. She said, "I went to Professor Boot to ask him if he knew what a Horcrux was, which by the way, he didn't tell me anything, and then he was walking me back to my dorm, when his brother showed up. He went off with him. I was on my way back alone when I ran into Malfoy."

"What did he say to you? Why was he warning you?" Harry asked. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"He just told me that, oh Harry, I really can't say," she whimpered.

"Don't keep his secrets!" Harry chastised. "He's not to be trusted."

She put her head on his shoulder, her arms around his waist, and said, "Harry, I think you're right. I think he is a Death Eater." She wouldn't say anything more, because she didn't know what else to say. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know who to trust. She felt numb and void of all reasonable thought. Her head was spinning. Everything was too much for her to handle. She no longer knew what to believe.

Harry put his arm around her shoulders and walked her back toward the dorm. She looked back once, and wondered if Draco was to be trusted.

* * *

_A/N: Sort of bad news everyone, for me anyway. I had a biopsy of my neck a week ago, and the results came back as Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, (Cancer of the Lymph nodes) so I don't know what is ahead of me, but it might slow my updates. Thanks._


	29. Part XXIX: March

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXIX: March:**

**Hermione and Carina:**

Hermione felt contentment. She thought it was strange that she should feel such a positive emotion right now, but that was what she truly felt. She hadn't felt that way, or anything resembling happiness, for such a long time that she almost didn't recognize it. Now she greeted it like a dear old friend. She knew her fleeting happiness could only be attributed to the little baby she rocked in her arms, and who was born just six weeks ago.

The baby was perfect in every conceivable way, and Hermione was certain that Draco would fall in love with her at first sight. She had wisps of brown hair with nary a curl. Blue eyes, which Hermione knew was likely to change, although she hoped not. Chubby cheeks, ten toes, ten fingers, and already a disposition that rivaled the best and the worst of both her mother and father's personalities. Harry said she was already a tiny force to be reckoned with, but yet, she already had him, Ron, and both Grandfathers wrapped around her perfect little fingers.

Hermione sighed. Yes, Carina was perfect in almost everyway, except for one. She was without a father. Hermione tried not to dwell on that for too long. The fact that he was gone marred Hermione's otherwise perfect life right now.

In a strange way, she was becoming accustomed to Draco's absence. It almost felt normal to go to bed alone, eat alone, and wake up alone. She hated that fact. She didn't want to become used to being without him. She still missed him terribly, but the pain of missing him had subsided considerably, so much so that the gaping wound that was once her heart was finally on the mend, thanks to her baby.

She rocked the little one back and forth, when she heard a man clear his throat at the doorway of the nursery. Hermione didn't look up. She knew who it was. She whispered, loud enough for the man to hear, "Looks like your daily visitor is a bit early, Carina." Lucius came to see his grandchild every single day. He had not missed one day since she was born. At first, it irked Hermione, but now, in an odd sense, it endeared him to her.

She was nobody's fool. She would never completely forgive him for all the atrocities he had committed during their lives, but whatever fault, or sins, the man had had and committed, one fact remained evident: He loved his family. He was loyal to a fault. And his grandchild was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.

He walked over to the pair, and placed his index finger gently on the baby's head, stroking her downy soft, fine, brown hair. He said, "Too bad she's not blond."

"I heard Draco was bald until he was a year old. At least she has hair," Hermione said, looking up and smiling at him.

"And at least it's not curly," he said. He looked at Hermione and smiled, so she would know that he was making fun at her expense.

Hermione stood, handed him the baby, and he took her place in the rocker. She said, "Your humour is wasted on me."

"So my son always said," Lucius retorted. "Speaking of Draco, have you tried to contact him again?" After hearing that Hermione and Nick Boot were able to contact Draco the night the baby was born, he had been after her to do so again. She hadn't tried again, because she didn't see the use. She didn't know what she would say besides, 'please come home'.

She leaned against the rocker, touched her daughter's cheek and said, "I haven't even tried, and I don't intend to, so please stop asking." She moved to look out the window and said, "It's too painful."

Lucius said, "Potter's here, and he's brought someone to talk to you."

"Who is it?" she asked, turning around.

"I wouldn't know, nor do I care," he said in his haughty way.

Hermione knew that Lucius Malfoy's men, the Brotherhood of the Raven, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Aurors, were carefully watching her house, her person, and her baby so she could only assume that the person was a friend, or at least, someone Harry trusted.

She started out of the room, and Lucius said, "Be careful, daughter. It's a vampire, and they aren't to be trusted."

"I don't know any vampires," she said, stopping before walking out of the door.

"That may be true, but he claims to know you, and he's woven quite the tale to Potter," her father-in-law stated.

"I thought you didn't know who it was, and you didn't care," she said back, flippantly.

He laughed. She shook her head and walked down the stairs, to find out who this visitor was, and what he wanted.

She saw a tall, thin man, very pale, with long hair. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent. He was paler than Malfoy! She reached the bottom step where the strange man and Harry both looked her way, from their place by the front door.

She did recognize him. She hadn't seen him for so very long, and even then, she had only met him once, at a Christmas party. "Hello. Mr. Sanguini, correct?" she asked. She held out her hand.

The vampire looked at her hand, and then at Harry. He looked back toward Hermione and said, "You know, Vampires don't usually shake hands, as a rule."

"I'm sorry to offend," she said, placing her hands behind her back.

He held out his and said, "I rather think it's because people are afraid to touch them, not the other way around." She shook his hand. It felt cold.

She looked at Harry, the question in her eyes was, "What's this man doing here?"

Harry answered her silent question by saying, "Mr. Sanguini has something he wants to tell you, Hermione. He's already told the story to me, and believe it or not, it seems very credible, because he told me things that I know are truths."

Hermione pointed toward the living room. The three walked in the room, with Harry and Hermione taking the couch, and the vampire taking one of the chairs.

"You are as beautiful as I remember…Mrs. Malfoy, correct?"

"Yes, and you remember me, how? I mean, we only met once, years and years ago, at a party that Horace Slughorn threw, while I was at school," Hermione said. The puzzle pieces, however, were starting to fit together. She met this man during her sixth year at school, which was where Draco was at this moment.

Harry stood up and said, "He's has something for your ears only, apparently, so I'll go up and see Carina and Lucius."

"Harry?" she questioned. She stood up, walked toward him and whispered, "Is it okay for me to speak with him?"

Harry nodded and said, "I believe so. He seems trustworthy and I've searched him and he doesn't have a wand on him, and the house has wards. There are also Aurors outside the house, just in case, though." Harry smiled and walked up the stairs.

Hermione sat back down and said, "Excuse me, but what would you and I have to discuss?"

"Your husband, your life, and Helena Boot," the vampire said.

**Apparition Lessons:**

Ron was going on and on about how excited he was to learn to apparate. Harry, however, seemed nonplus. He was more interested in staring at Malfoy. He leaned over to Hermione, as they all stood in the Great Hall, awaiting their first lesson, and said, "He's up to something, I know it. I've been watching the map, and he keeps disappearing, but he can't apparate yet, can he? Besides, a person can't apparate in or out of the school."

Hermione looked over at Draco along with Harry. She said, "I don't know." She didn't even know if that was an appropriate response to Harry's ramblings, because she wasn't really listening to him. Ron continued to chatter on the right of her, Harry continued his soliloquy on the left, and in the meantime, she kept quiet and continued to watch Draco.

He looked up at her, and then at Potter, and then gave them a deadly glare. Blaise leaned forward and said, "What's with Potter?"

"He thinks I'm a Death Eater," Draco said in hushed tones.

"Well, you kind of were the first time you were here, I mean, you are, now, aren't you?" Blaise said.

Draco looked over at him and said, "And your point is, what?"

"Never mind," Blaise said. Then he leaned toward Draco again and said, "Any sign of Paul Boot?"

"No, it's like he's fallen off the face of the earth," Draco sulked.

"And what's with Granger and you these days. You haven't seen her for almost two months. For a while there, you two were good buddies," Blaise said.

Draco turned to the other man and said, "Well the first time we lived this year, we weren't, were we? So we aren't now, are we?"

"Whatever, mate," Blaise said, hands in the air. "You know I'm just here to help."

"You're here to spy on me for my father," Draco spat.

"I'm here to help, plain and simple, but the point is, I came under the blue moon too, so I'm stuck here until you and big brother Boot go home, so at least be civil to me," Blaise said. Then he said, to himself, "How the hell am I suppose to act like I DON'T know how to apparate, when I've been doing it for years?"

Draco looked back up at Harry, who was no longer beside Hermione and Weasley. He was moving closer to Draco. It was bad enough that he had to worry about Hermione's safety, but now he was having 'actual' trouble with the cabinet. When he found out that Ellen and Paul might have come into Hogwarts using the cabinet, he broke the damn thing again. He never thought that he was actually disabling the thing so badly that he would have trouble fixing it again, so he was spending a lot of time in the Room of Requirement, and just like the first time, Potter was constantly on the prowl to catch Draco doing something. It was maddening!

Potter was standing right behind him now. He turned to look at him. "What do you want, Potty?"

"Nothing, Malfoy, nothing at all," Harry said.

The apparition lesson went by slowly for Draco. He didn't even attempt to try to apparate, mainly because like Blaise, he already knew how, and also, he wasn't able to do it the first time, so there was no reason to pretend now. After a boring hour-long lesson, everyone started to file out of the Great Hall.

They crowd of sixth year students were all heading toward the doors at once, when a girl suddenly screamed. Draco, who was taller than most, looked above a small crowd, which was standing in a circle, around someone on the floor.

Draco, Blaise, and Harry all ran to the circle. On the floor, in obvious pain, was Hermione, and beside her, Ron. Ron looked up at Harry and said, "She's bleeding! We were leaving the hall, and she cried out, and now there's blood coming from her leg."

Professor McGonagall and Professor Boot came running into the hall. Don caught Draco's eyes. McGonagall asked if anyone saw anything, as Don crouched down beside Hermione.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I was walking out, and I was jostled from behind, and I swear, it felt like someone sliced my leg open," she cried. There was a large pool of blood by her leg. Beside the blood was a silver dagger.

"Everyone back up, and no one leaves this room," Don said. He picked up the dagger and then told Ron to pick her up and take her to the Hospital Wing. Harry started to run to the door and Don said, "Stay here, Mr. Potter."

"But, sir," he started.

"As soon as we ascertain what happen, you can go with her, too," Don assured.

Harry looked over at Draco. Draco couldn't help himself, he walked up to Harry and said, "It couldn't have been me, Potter, because you were with me the whole time, which by the way, reminds me, why were you with me, when you should have been with her? I told you she wasn't safe."

"You did something, I know it," Harry accused.

"Sure, from across the room, with my wand in my pocket!" Draco shouted. A small crowd formed around them, consisting mostly of Gryffindors and Slytherins.

"You had someone do something, then!" Harry said.

"I warned you," Draco said back. Blaise walked up to Draco and held his arm. He whispered in his ear, something that no one else could hear. He told Draco not to reveal anything.

However, Pansy looked across the room and smiled at someone. They smiled back, and nodded their head once.

After everyone was questioned, and no one claimed to have seen anything, the teachers let everyone leave. Harry ran up to the Hospital Wing. Don walked over to Draco and said, "I'll go see what happened. Did you see anything at all?"

"No, because Potter was on me like a rotting pimple on my backside, stupid Scarhead," Draco hissed. "I hate that man more today than I did when I was here the first time! He should be watching her!"

"We all should be," Blaise said as he leaned over. "I think I have a clue as to what's going on, and I need to go question someone." With that vague statement made, he left.

Don ran up to the Hospital Wing. Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Boot, did you and the other teachers find out anything?"

"No, ma'am, now, what's going on up here?" Don asked.

"Oh my, well, Poppy says that she must have been cut, along the back of her right calf, with that goblin forged silver blade that you found. She said the blade must have been cursed, because she can't get the blood to stop. It won't even clot. If she can't get it to stop soon, she'll have to send her to St. Mungos."

Don frowned and said, "Professor, has Dumbledore told you why I'm really here this year?"

Professor McGonagall said, "He was informed of the reason for your visit by your brother last month, I believe, and he told me very little, just that it had to do with Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, and that Professor Snape was aware of everything."

Don smiled and said, "Then if I ask you to watch out for Hermione, a bit extra, you won't think that's strange?"

"My dear boy, I've **always** watched out for her, a bit extra, don't you know," the older woman said with a smile.

She left through the doors as Don started in. Snape started out as well and stopped him. "I've used every potion I can think of to stop the bleeding, but nothing will stop it. She's already needed two replenishment potions. I've tested the blade, to see if a potion or poison was used on it, but I believe it must have been cursed, not poisoned."

"Where's the laceration?" Don asked.

"Below her knee, the back of her calf and it's quite painful," Snape declared. "I have to go look in the storerooms to see if I have anything else I can use."

Don was about to go to Hermione's bed, but then he had an idea as to how to help her. He ran down to his office, to use the Floo.

He was walking back up from his office when Draco approached. "Well?"

"I'm in a hurry, Draco, and I really don't have anything to tell you. Someone sliced her leg open with a goblin forged, knife, apparently."

"And?" Draco urged.

"Goblin forged knives are known to be cursed. Her wound won't heal. She's bleeding, and she's liable to bleed literally to death. Snape and Pomfrey can't seem to come up with an antidote," Don explained.

Draco gasped and his hands went to his friends shoulders. "I have to see her!"

"You can't, and you know that. Harry and Ron haven't left her side. Listen, I had an idea, and I had to Floo Nick, and he's coming and he's bringing someone who may be able to help her," Don said.

Draco blanched and said, "What the hell can Nick do?"

"Listen, stop being a jealous fool and go down to your dorm, or better yet, ask around and see if anyone saw anything that they didn't want to tell the professors. If someone thinks you're pleased by what happened, they might be more apt to talk to you." Don patted his back and ran down the hall.

Draco had to fight the temptation to run after him. Instead, he went back to his dorm, to ask if anyone saw what happened to 'the mudblood'.

**An Interview with a Vampire:**

"Where to start, where to start," the vampire said, standing from his chair, and circling the room.

"Start at the beginning, that usually works," Hermione said with a hint of condescension.

"I think it's odd that I went to bed last night, Mrs. Malfoy, with hardly a memory of you at all, and then when I woke this morning, I seem to have a memory of an encounter with you, which I have never had before. You see, vampires are different from mere humans in many ways. For instance, time means different things to us, well, it would, wouldn't it, since we're immortal. You see, I remember every single second of my very long life. Time travel and alterations in time don't affect us the way it would you. If something changes the past, it might change the future, but you wouldn't be any wiser. You would merely know the way things are now, not the way they should be, or had been. Am I making sense?"

Hermione said a resounding, "no."

"Let me put it this way, a few months back I had what I thought was a dream if you will. I dreamt that I helped you one day in the forest, along with a young man, and a panther. I was protecting you from a woman named Helena Boot. I do suppose she rings a bell, right?"

"Her, I've heard of," Hermione said. She stood up and said, "Tell me, please, what new memory of me you have suddenly had?"

"First, may I?" he asked, and he held out his hand again. Hermione placed her hand in his. He held her wrist to his nose. "Yes, I remember the smell." He kept her hand and said, "You were stabbed when you were in school, in the leg, by a goblin-forged dagger. The wound wouldn't heal, and you were on the verge of bleeding out, when a young friend of mine named Nick Boot received a call from his brother."

The vampire kept Hermione's hand lightly in his hand. His hand was cold, but his grip light. Hermione knew that he could easily break her arm in two, if he wanted to. He continued. "I visited you in the school's infirmary, with Nick Boot, and I helped your blood to clot, by using a natural coagulant that's found in vampire's saliva."

Hermione made a funny face and asked, "What did you do to me?" although, she had an idea.

He smiled a perfect, toothy grin, and said, "I stopped the bleeding my dear, which means I've tasted your blood, by licking your wound with my tongue."

She looked disgusted. She said, "I can assure you that never happened. Where was I stabbed?"

"Your right leg, behind your knee."

Hermione lifted her pant leg, and looked behind her knee. There wasn't a scar. She said, "There's nothing there. I don't understand what it is that you're trying to tell me."

"The magic, which your husband and his friend are relying on, protects not only them, but the rest of you as well, at the moment, anyway. The moment that the spell of the blue moon is to end, which is on the first full moon of the fifth month of this year, the protection that it evokes will end, that is, if they don't come home. If they don't return at that precise time, then everything that happened between the two phases of the blue moon will have really happened. If you die in that time, come May 27th, you'll be dead here, and it will appear to everyone that, that is how it always was."

"Okay, but if things are already changing in the past, why is it that I'm not aware of things changing?" she asked.

"I told you, the magic's different for me. As an immortal, my realm of existence is altered differently. The blue moon's magic doesn't affect me, so I recall the new events as well as the old, thus the rub." He still had her hand. He pulled her closer and said, "I saved your life back then, so I think you owe me."

Hermione said, "What do you want, a medal?"

He laughed and said, "Goodness, no, what would I do with a medal. No, I discovered something with my newfound little memory. I discovered exactly why Helena Boot is after you again."

"Why?" she asked.

He smiled, and his fangs extended. He said, "You'll find out." Then, he touched her cheek, and she fell over like a rag doll. He held her up easily, and looked out toward the open doorway. He wondered if Potter was telling the truth when he said there were two Aurors outside the house. Well, he would soon find out, when he left. He picked her up, and started to the door.

Harry started down the stairs and shouted, "Where are you going with her?"

"I told you not to trust anyone, Mr. Potter, when I told you my story. It's a wonder that you decided to trust me. You would think that the man who vanquished the Dark Lord would have better wits about him," the vampire said, with Hermione thrown easily over his shoulder.

Lucius stood at the top of the stairs, and Harry partway down. Both men drew their wands. The vampire laughed and said, "I haven't lived this long to be brought down by a simple wand, gentlemen. Don't worry; she'll be safer with me than with either of you. We can only hope her husband keeps her just as safe in the past." He opened the door, threw up his hand, and in wisp a red smoke, he was gone.

Harry was incensed! He trusted the man when he told Harry his story, and Harry and Lucius had both placed powerful wards on this house, yet the vampire disapparated with her right under their noses. Harry Potter was disgusted! With the vampire, but also, with himself.

* * *

_Personal notes..stop reading if you want._

_I am having my surgery on 1/23 to remove the neck mass, and then they will do another biopsy, and figure out the exact type of treatment that I need, whether it is chemo and radiation, or a combo, or neither. (I vote for that). Thanks for everyone's personal messages to me! They've meant alot, sincerely._


	30. Part XXX

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXX:**

**Reflections of a Past and a Future:**

Draco opened the doors to the Hospital wing. He saw a screen in front of a bed, and then he saw the old mediwitch in the corner, at her desk, writing. He walked over to the older woman and said, "Madam Pomfrey, where's Hermione Granger?"

"She's behind that screen. She was getting too many visitors, so I put a screen in front of her, but the screen is actually a shield charm. No one can get past it, or even see around it. She needs her rest. Why are you here, Mr. Malfoy?"

He looked over to the screen, which extended around one side of the bed to the other, then back at the older woman, and said, "No reason." He started to leave when the older woman took his arm. Draco looked down at her hand.

"Mr. Boot explained everything to Minerva and I this evening. He tells me that in the future you're a frequent visitor here. He tells me that in the future, you love that young woman very much. I'm going to my office, and then to bed. If someone really wanted to get past the shield charm, they would say the password, and walk right around the screen." She smiled at him and said, "Sugar wafers are my favorite biscuits, did you know?"

She turned and left and he frowned, but then smiled as he realized what the old woman meant. Sugar wafers, huh? He walked over to the screen. He could see the outline of her silhouette behind the screen, and the flame of a single candle. He said, "Sugar wafers," and then he walked around the screen. She was on the bed, reading a book.

"I was wondering if you would come visit me," she said. She put the book down.

"Madam Pomfrey says you've been getting too many visitors, hence the screen," Draco said, pointing behind him to the screen.

"It's really a shield charm. Terry Boot tried to sneak around it earlier and was knocked on his bum," Hermione revealed. Draco laughed.

"Are you alright?" he asked, taking her hand and sitting beside her on the bed.

"I'm fine, now. I've missed you these last few weeks. I don't like it that we've gone back to being enemies," she stated.

"Enemies?" he asked. "Never." He kissed the top of her hand. "Never," he said again. She looked so young, he thought. Well, they were all young, but she looked especially young. He moved to lie beside her on top of her covers, and she turned to her side. He stroked her cheek, and her hair. They were all so young, but not so innocent and that caused him pain inside. He had felt old for so very long. He felt as if he was failing. The blue moon's protection would end within six weeks of the next blue moon, which was only two months away, and they had accomplished nothing here.

They would never catch Ellen. They would never find out why she came back. All of this pain and suffering will have been in vain. When he finally went home, would he even still have a wife and child? Would his life, as he knew it, end?

He continued to stroke her hair, leaned forward to kiss her forehead, and he realized that was a distinct possibility, and it filled him with shame and fear. He said, "We're no closer to finding Ellen, or Paul, and we still don't know why she came back. Don has even stopped teaching with Slughorn to put all his time and effort into the search, but it's futile, and you're still getting hurt. Why am I here, Hermione?"

Hermione leaned forward, cupped his cheek, and said, "Maybe you're here just to love me in the moment."

"But when the blue moon's over, you'll forget the Draco that you love," he moaned.

"Then we have this moment. We have this instant. Love me now, Draco." She leaned forward for a second time and this time she kissed his mouth. He pushed her slightly away, but then held her to his chest.

There was nothing he wanted more than to make love to her. To touch her, taste her, have her one last time, because it truly might be the last time. His task was to come here and protect her, not to fall in love all over again. He was to protect her without changing the past, but the past had already changed. He was meant to fix the damn cabinet, which he did, only to have to destroy it again. He smashed it almost to bits when he found out that by fixing it too early he had put her in more danger, and now he could hardly set it right.

He was spending every waking moments trying to fix it, just as he did the first time he was here. Potter was following his every move, just as _he did_ the first time they were here. All of this meant he wasn't available to protect her. He wasn't available to be with her, and love her, as he wanted to do.

He asked Don tonight what they would do if the second blue moon phase came and they hadn't found Ellen. Don told Draco that Draco would have to go back, and that he would stay here.

Which meant that Don was giving up his life for them, and Draco wasn't prepared to lose his best friend, although he WOULD NOT lose his wife and child, either.

This was the worst time of his life! He couldn't leave Don and Hermione here in this time without him. He couldn't leave knowing Ellen and Helena still wanted to harm Hermione. He would stay too, and they would have a new life.

Only he knew he really couldn't do that, because that might forfeit his child's life, and he could never do that. Also, he didn't want to relive his seventh year at school. He didn't want to go through the motions, knowing that Hermione was out there reliving her seventh year.

One time, right after they married, she told him about her fears that year. She told the anguish that she felt, and that the search for Horcruxes was harder than anything she had ever experienced, and that surprised him, because she told him this after they lived through the year with Professor Mankin and after the year with Helena Boot, so that meant the year they searched for Horcruxes was really bad. She cried and cried that night. She said it was the worst year of her life. He couldn't watch her relive it. He was selfish, and he just couldn't do it. Besides, what if the Dark Lord discovered Draco's feelings for her? What if he read Draco's mind, and discovered that he loved her, and discovered her connection to Slytherin and Hufflepuff. He would use it against them all, and he might win the war. He would use Hermione to get to Harry.

Don was right, he would have to go back, but he didn't want to go back unless he was certain that the future as he knew it wouldn't be untold.

He leaned forward again. The silence between them was overwhelming. He kissed her cheek. It was cold, so cold. He wrapped his arms around her, and she put her head on his chest.

**He did what?**

Draco finally asked, "How did they get your bleeding to stop?"

Hermione was playing with the buttons of his shirt. It was no longer tucked into his pants, and she was playing with the button closest to his chin. She said, "That's kind of a strange story. Do you remember me telling you about the vampire that protected me that time on the way back from Hogsmeade? The one from Slughorn's Christmas party?"

Draco sat upright, stilled her hand in his, and looked down upon her and with a bit of ire said, "Continue."

"He stopped it."

"How?" Draco let go of her hand and sat upright. She sat beside him.

"Well, Don Boot brought him to see me, and apparently there's an ingredient or something, in a vampire's saliva, that stops bleeding, and Don remembered that, and the Boot brother's must know this fellow, and well…" she stopped.

Draco stood up. "What the hell, Granger? Did the man lick your leg or something?"

"Something like that," she answered timidly. She blushed.

"I'll kill Don Boot! Doesn't he know how dangerous that is? What if the man couldn't stop? What if he now craves your blood? He might go after you! I'll kill him, so help me!" Draco was ranting and walking back and forth along the side of the bed.

"The alternative was death, Draco!" Hermione reprimanded. "Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey thought it was a stroke of good luck that Don thought of him! They said I would have died in another hour. After he was done, he went off to talk with Professor Dumbledore, so he must not be a bad person."

Draco walked over to her bed, sat facing her, and grabbed both her shoulders. "He's not a person at all! He's a monster, and don't you dare give me that look! He's nothing like Professor Lupin! I know that's what you were going to say. He's a monster!"

"What do you have against him?" she asked. "Is it just him, or all vampires?"

"All vampires!" Draco shouted. He really couldn't tell her that he wasn't justified in his prejudice. He just didn't like them on principle. The truth could have been said about Mudbloods when he was 16 years old, and suddenly, he felt ashamed. "Never mind," he tacked on. "What's done is done, and he saved your life, so that's okay."

"Okay? It's okay that he saved my life?" she asked, sarcastically.

"I guess," he mumbled. She laughed and he made a funny face. He lay back down beside her and said, "I guess I'm still happy your alive, little one." He smiled to show that he was joking.

"Once I got past the 'icky' factor I was resigned with what he did, because it saved my life, but believe me, I was put off by it at first too, especially as it seemed to make him so, well, happy," she told him softly.

Draco pushed her hair back from her face and said, "Describe happy."

"He seemed, well, excited by it, or something. I don't know. Afterwards, when the bleeding stopped, he bent down and whispered something that only I could hear, and it concerned me at the time. I guess it still does."

Draco frowned, and kissed the top of her head. "What did he say?"

"He said, 'I know you now. I thought I knew you before, but I really know you. It's true what they told me. Well, this changes things a lot.' And then he didn't say anything else, but he kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand. What do you suppose he meant, Malfoy?"

Draco had no clue what the vampire meant, but suddenly, he was worried for his Hermione. Time travel and blue moon magic worked differently on immortals. Did Don know this when he went to the man? He wouldn't worry about it now. He had so many other things to worry about, that he couldn't contemplate one more.

They were quiet for a long time again. Draco thought she might have fallen asleep. He started to extricate himself from her arms, when she said, "May I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Is it true that you kill Professor Dumbledore? I won't tell a soul, but I have to know."

Draco took a long, ragged breath in and said, "I don't kill him. It was my task, set by the Dark Lord, whose real goal was for me to fail. He wanted me to fail, as punishment for my father. But he does die this year, and in many ways, I will always feel it is my fault, although he could have probably saved himself. Instead, he opted to save me." Draco had never stated that connection aloud, but it was true. The crazy old codger saved Draco's life, by forfeiting his own.

"Who else dies?" she asked in a voice that was only a fraction above a whisper.

"I can't tell you that."

"Please," she begged.

"No, because I know you. You'll try to change things," he stated.

"If I won't remember, where's the harm?"

"If you won't remember, you don't need to know," he stated back. He wouldn't tell her that her one of her favourite people, Remus Lupin, dies in the future. He won't tell her that Fred Weasley dies. He won't tell her about all of the others. He won't tell her any of this.

She sat up and said, "Please, tell me something about the future."

"I love you," he said.

**Making Love for the First time, again:**

"I'm grateful you gave up everything to come back in time to try to save my life," she remarked after a few minutes.

He smiled and said, "I was saving my life, too, because you are my life." He kissed her cheeks, first the right one, and then the left. While still holding her face, he kissed her lips tenderly. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her, and for once, he wished things could be different. He wished he could pursue this, and make love to her, but that would be unforgivable, wouldn't it?

He leaned over and kissed her gently on her long exposed neck. His hands went to her hair and tangled in her soft, curly tresses. Nothing in his life could measure up to the woman before him. He pushed her to her back, as his mouth traveled down her neck, to the open collar of her nightgown, and then back up to her lips. His hand cupped one of her covered breasts gently, and when she didn't protest, he kissed her lovingly, gentler than he had ever been except for perhaps the first time. The first time they made love.

As soon as that fleeting thought escaped him, he knew he was going to do the unthinkable. He knew he was going to do the unforgivable, and it was wrong, and selfish, and irresponsible, but he didn't care about any of that right now. He only cared that she was in the flesh, before him, and he wanted her, and by her response, he knew that she wanted him, too.

She reacted by opening her mouth under his. Soon, her small shoulders and neck were exposed as his nervous fingers found the buttons of her gown, and traveled down to expose her skin to him. His mouth covered one of her breasts, while it still had a scrap of material covering it. He waited to see if she would push him away. She gasped, but her hands grasped his broad shoulders, and one of her long graceful legs went over one of his legs. His hand went from her knee, up to her thigh. Her skin was so soft and warm. He thought she was cold earlier, but he was wrong. She was so warm.

He pushed the covers all the way down, put up a concealment charm of his own, and then said a contraception spell. She lay idly by, watching, observing. What a difference this time was from the first time. Draco couldn't believe she wasn't more nervous. The first time she was so timid and scared. Then, he remembered that actually, the first time, she took the initiative, so maybe she was always the brave one after all.

His hands, roaming everywhere, enveloped her body. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Desire rose from the lowest place of their souls, and each responded in kind. He kissed her enthusiastically, with yearning and desire. She gave in to the sensation he called upon.

Without knowing how it happened, her gown soon joined his shirt on the floor. His fingers traveled over her goose-pimpled flesh. She smiled and tried to hide her breasts with her hands. He pushed them away. He knew she was a virgin, but he wasn't sure that mattered. He was her only lover in the future, and she wouldn't remember this later. He would marry her someday, anyway. His hands traveled to her bare breasts, moving her hands away, and he was in wonder at the sight of the woman who lay before him. Her body now was not so very different from the body that he had memorized in the future. He had every part of her burned into his brain, seeing her again brought the memories of each time they made love into the forefront of his mind, and the desire was so acute that he had actual pain at the memory.

His mouth moved with his hands, and she cried out in elation. She reached a hand down for him, and helped him remove the rest of his clothing. They took their time, examining the other's body, with gentle caresses, timid touches, small kisses, and licks and bites. They came together artfully, gracefully, as if they had done this a million times before. For Draco, it was like coming home. For this Hermione, it was brand new, but she seemed to relish each second of it.

He could not remove his eyes from the woman underneath him. She stared deep in his eyes as well. They continued, her soft cry in his ear sounded like a memory squeezing his heart. Agile fingers and lips continued their trek, touching and kissing places that beseeched to be touched. His quest continued to seek a silent reward upon her body, and eventually she gave him her mind, heart, and soul.

He cried out, and she was unusually quiet as they reached the pinnacle of this splendid moment. After making love, he wrapped his arms around her, more certain than ever that this was the woman he was meant to love and protect, for the rest of his life. Nothing else in the world mattered. He would find a way to protect her, then he would go back to her, and if past was willing, he would never leave her side again.

She reached down for her gown. Without saying a word to him, she slipped it back over her shoulders, and down her body. He skimmed his hand down her back and said, "You're still modest. I mean, you always put a gown back on after we make love."

"Maybe I'm just cold," she said. She smiled, kissed him again and said, "Did you ever think of that?"

No, he hadn't, and that actually made sense. He reached for his shorts and shirt. He quickly dressed completely and he covered her with the covers and then lay back down beside her, on the outside.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. He wasn't really, but he thought it should be said. "I'm a grown man, and you're of age, but still."

"First, I'm not sorry, and I suspect you aren't either," she said. He laughed. How well she knew him. She continued with, "And I wouldn't change a moment of what just occurred. I'm glad I have this moment to remember, even if I someday forget it. Does that make sense? Oh, and you know, right now, I'm actually the one that's a lech, because you're still under age. I'm seventeen, and you're only sixteen."

He laughed again, got up on one elbow, looked down at her and said, "You are a bit of a perv. I'm a mere boy, Granger."

"You're not a boy," she laughed.

They were quiet once more, and finally she said, "Are you going to be able to find Ellen, do you think?"

"I hope so. Go to sleep, Hermione. I'll stay here until morning."

"By the way, I don't know if it helps any, but I think that Pansy Parkinson might have had something to do with what happened to me, but I can't be sure," she said, with a yawn.

He said, "Why are you just now telling me this? And why do you think that?"

"Well, right before it happened, she was standing beside me and Ron, which in and of itself is odd, but then she said something to Terry Boot and then a moment later, someone stabbed my leg. What would she have to say to Terry, do you suppose?"

Draco was afraid to think about that. He would have to tell Don. He said, "Don't worry right now. Go to sleep. I love you, little one. I love you."

"I love you, too," she said. She leaned up, kissed his mouth again, and then went to sleep, where she didn't dream once the whole night. Draco Malfoy stayed by her side, and he didn't dream either, but it was because he didn't sleep one wink.


	31. Part XXXI

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXI:**

**Hermione slaps a Vampire:**

As soon as the Vampire apparated to places unknown with Hermione, she pulled her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. The smile, which had been in place on the man's face from the moment he set foot in her house, slipped away quickly, replaced with the ultimate frown. He still had her other arm, but now his free hand grabbed her free hand as she reared back to hit him again.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Malfoy!" He pushed her onto a red, plush settee and walked over to a fireplace. He lit a fire with his wand. She was breathing hard, out of fear and anger.

"Where am I?"

"You don't get to ask questions," he sneered. He rounded on her and said, "The way I see it, I've done nothing but help you so far, and the thanks I get is a slap in the face!"

She stood up and to his surprise pushed him. He barely moved, but her indignation did make his smile return. "How have you helped me!" she screamed. "You kidnapped me! You took me away from my home and baby!"

"I'm trying to save your misbegotten life!" he bellowed back at her. "Ungrateful woman!"

She put her hands on her hips and said, "Do you even know what misbegotten means, because you didn't use it in the right context in that sentence. I am not ill-conceived, dishonest, badly planned, deplorable nor illegitimate, and those are the only meanings of that word!"

He stared at her for a moment, threw back his head, and laughed aloud! "Oh my, you are a riot! I always heard that you were, but seriously, you are too much!" He sat down on the abandoned settee and said, "Join me."

"Bite me!" she said. As soon as it came out of her mouth, she knew it wasn't an appropriate response to a vampire. His eyebrows raised and she said, "I mean, well, you know what I mean."

"You mean, go to hell, right?" he asked.

She sat on the other end of the settee, no longer afraid, and said, "Something like that. Seriously, where am I?"

"My house."

"Which is where?"

"Somewhere," he answered cryptically. He stood up again and said, "Curious thing, Mrs. Malfoy, but you'll come to thank me for this kidnapping, because there's going to be a fire at your house tonight."

She stood up and said, "Oh my God, my baby!"

"Is fine and already at Malfoy Manor," he answered. "But, if I hadn't taken you, both you and your baby, along with the bodies of Don Boot and your husband would have perished. Harry Potter thought he thought of everything, with protection charms, and wards, but one thing he didn't count on was good old-fashion fire. Fire, which is terribly dangerous to creatures like me, is equally deadly to humans."

She stood up and asked, "Why couldn't you just tell us that there was going to be a fire? We could have left, or better yet, protected the house." She gasped again and said, "Is my house going to be destroyed?"

"No, not now, because by now, the culprit knows that you're missing. She will have assumed the baby is with you, somewhere else. There would still be joy for her to burn the bodies of Don and Draco, but I'm sure your father-in-law took them to the Manor, too, and her primary goal was you and your child. That's why I had to separate you two, because she wants you both dead. You see, the person who's after you needs to create two Horcruxes, and so they need two significant deaths. You and your child."

Hermione ran up to the man and grabbed his collar. "Who wants to kill my baby, and how do you know all of this? You kept saying the pronoun, 'she'. Who is she?"

"Helena Boot wants to kill you and your baby, although, you surely already knew that," he said, his smile gone. "And I'll reveal how I know these things at a later time."

"Helena Boot's dead! I killed her years ago! She burned and perished before my eyes," she said softly.

"And now she's back, or rather, she's not dead yet, in the past," he said solemnly. "Let me try to explain. Years ago, Nick Boot had a prophecy about you, Draco and your future child, correct?"

Hermione wasn't sure she should confirm this to this man, but she finally nodded.

"Helena found out about this prophecy, but Nick never told her the full prophecy. In fact, he never revealed the full prophecy to anyone but his brothers, his father, and oddly enough, to me. Helena was always under the assumption that she was the heir of Hufflepuff and Slytherin. When Nick's prophecy revealed you as the heir, she set about to destroy you. Because of a protection set about by Slytherin himself, she could only kill you with the wand of her true ancestors. The Darian's wand."

"That's right," she confirmed, her head in her hands. "And I killed her with this wand instead, and the wand perished in the fire with her."

"In the past, that's right," he said. He came to sit beside her. "And her daughter Ellen tried to help her, and she was thrown into Azkaban, until last August, when she escaped. She found out, from Paul Boot, of a spell that existed called the 'Blue Moon Spell', where people could travel back in time, without affecting the past. She also found out another spell for time travel, from the same ancient tome that was stolen from the Brotherhood of the Raven. This spell doesn't have protection not to change things. This is the spell she used to travel to the past, and this is the same spell that Paul is using to travel back and forth."

"But Paul's really gone, and Ellen's body is still here," Hermione pointed out.

"Only because she's not using her own body, she inhabits someone else's body in the past. I believe that Paul's traveling as himself, and this spell is a corporeal spell, which means not only the mind and soul travel between times, but also the body."

"Why did Paul turn against us? Do you know? Why did he help Ellen?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know that, but I don't think he's not being duplicitous," he replied.

"Where is Paul now? No one's seen him for months," she said.

"I think he's trying hard to stop everything on his own, but can't," the vampire revealed.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, wearily.

"I really can't reveal much to you yet, but I want to tell you a few things. One, Harry Potter let me in your house today because I showed him a note written by Dumbledore, from the past, asking him to do so. I wanted to clear that up, first."

"Fine." Hermione didn't care about that.

"Second, Nick Boot is an extremely talented psychic, and a very honourable man, but he has secrets of his own. Secrets only he, his brothers Don and Paul knows. Secrets that if Helena ever found out, or if Ellen found out, would certainly change the course of this story. You see, Nick didn't reveal all of his prophecy to you, all those years ago. He only revealed the part that was pertinent to you and your husband. There was another part, which I can't reveal yet either."

Hermione stood up and said, "Tell me, how you know all of this."

"Our futures are intertwined, Mrs. Malfoy. That's why I became involved," he answered. "I really don't want to say more yet, because it would reveal the part of the prophecy that Nick doesn't want revealed. I only became aware of these things after I was asked to help you in the past by Don Boot."

He leaned back, and he suddenly looked grim to Hermione. His smile vanished again and he said, "Time travel and magic involving the blue moon works differently on me. I am a creature whose life theoretically is without end. Therefore, when the past is changed, I am cognizant of that change in the present. I don't know how things will change the future, but everything that has happened in the past, which effects me in anyway, shape, or form, I am aware of it in the here and now. You aren't, because of the blue moon. The only way you would be affected by the changes of the past, is if something occurs differently after the blue moon ends."

"I was already aware of that. I know that Don and Draco can't change anything, but does that confirm that I'm not in danger in the past?" Hermione asked.

"You're still in danger in the past. Ellen's mother gave her orders only to make feeble attempts on your life, to fool Don and Draco. She's working with a Hogwarts student, to make things appear as if someone wants you dead. As I said, she's not in her own body in the past, that's why her body in the future is in a coma, and not in stasis, like Don and Draco's. I don't know whose body she's using in the past, or who is helping her. That'll be for you to discover."

"How will I discover that information?" Hermione asked.

"In due time," he uttered. "The theory that Nick and I have is that Helena wants to wait out the blue moon phase, have Draco and Don come back to the present, and then use you from the past to get the Darian Wand for her. She'll use the wand as the vessel for her soul. With the wand, and she'll create her Horcrux, come to the future, make one more Horcrux, and then she thinks she'll rule our world, but this plan is contingent on two significant deaths in the future, and she hasn't been able to kill the future you yet. In the meantime, Ellen is getting antsy in the past, and she made a real attempt on your life, instead of one that was just meant to scare you. She cut your leg with a goblin-forged blade, and you would have bled to death, but yours truly saved your life. No need to thank me."

Hermione had a massive headache. The vampire said, "I have been trying to stop Helena and Ellen in the past, along with Paul Boot, and two others, whose identity I cannot yet reveal."

"Who is trying to hurt us in the present?" Hermione asked.

"I really don't know, but I fear it may be Helena herself, only she wouldn't have a body to use in the present, since she's dead, so like Ellen, she may inhabit another. I think that makes sense. I think that she's no longer orchestrating things in the past, and Ellen is becoming scared without her mother, and she jumped the gun a bit, hence the actual attempt on your life."

"I also know that while Ellen and Helena have both tried to enlist the help of Terry Boot in the past, I don't think he is a willing participant, and I don't know yet how much he is aware of, and if he is helping them of his own freewill, or if he's being coerced. That's a problem for his brothers to unravel."

"The point is, I know of these things, because of my future connection to the Boots and because of my past friendship with them. All of the Boot brothers are helping you."

The vampire smiled and said, "By the way, I had to kidnap you, because you're going on a little trip yourself. You're going to the past, Mrs. Malfoy, to try to fix everything that everyone else has so badly messed up. However, because you're going to use the same magic that Paul's using, so your body from now will disappear. I had to kidnap you, so know one would wonder where you are."

"Will my daughter be safe here, especially if Helena's here pretending to be someone else?" Hermione asked, worried for her daughter's safety.

"As long as she's being protected by Lucius Malfoy, she'll be safe. I'll see to it as well, I promise you. My future depends on her in a way, too, so I want to see that she lives a long and happy life," the vampire said cryptically. "Come now, I want you to look at the ancient text of Rowena Ravenclaws that I so deftly stole from the Brotherhood of the Raven. Together, we'll figure out how to get you back to the past."

**Two of the Golden Trio and the Hospital Wing:**

Draco was startled into waking up when he heard Madame Pomfrey exclaim, "Oh my, put Mr. Weasley down over there!" He sat upright, as did the now awake Hermione. They looked at each other and Draco put his finger up to his mouth to motion that she needed to remain quiet.

"What happened?" the Mediwitch asked.

"He drank poisoned mead in Slughorn's office," Harry said frantically, "and when Professor Slughorn didn't do anything, I put a bezoar down his throat."

"Well, good thinking, Mr. Potter. Now, please move aside so we can work on him," she said. Harry moved over to the screen, which covered Hermione's bed. He stood on the other side.

"Hermione, can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes, Harry. Is Ron going to be okay?"

"I don't know." There was a pause and Harry asked, "Why can't I get around this screen?"

"It's a shield that Madame Pomfrey put up so no one could enter," Hermione explained. She hoped it would hold, since she was uncertain how she would explain to Harry that Draco Malfoy was in bed with her.

After many tense moments with Harry on the outside of the screen talking to Hermione, who was just as upset on the other side, Madame Pomfrey finally exclaimed, "Mr. Potter, you may see him now. Minerva, you should contact his family."

Harry started over to Ron's bed but then said, "May Hermione see him, too?"

Draco looked at Hermione with his eyes wide and he slipped off the bed, and crawled under it, though it was a tight fit. He got there just as the older woman was removing the spell on the screen. Harry pushed the screen aside and took Hermione's hand.

Draco was under the bloody bed for hours! Weasley's parents came, then his stupid brothers, then half of Gryffindor, then his silly, crying girlfriend. Hermione whispered several times to him that as soon as the coast was clear, she would tell him so he could leave. Finally, around noon, she slipped her head under the bed.

"Hi." She smiled at him as she held up the covers from his hiding place.

"I think I am seriously claustrophobic now," he whispered. "Can I come out yet?"

"Yes, but hurry. Harry's coming right back," she explained in hushed tones. Draco scrambled out from under the bed, and Hermione walked over to Ron's bed. Draco stood behind her.

"Harry said Ron almost died," she said sadly. She looked over at Draco and asked, "Who would give Slughorn poison mead? Do you suppose Voldemort knows that Harry is supposed to get information about these Horcruxes from him, so he wants him dead?"

Draco knew the poisoned mead was for Dumbledore. He knew that it was given to Slughorn at Christmas, and he was supposed to give it to Dumbledore, but that the selfish older professor kept it for himself. He knew all of this because Draco was the one that arranged the whole thing. He couldn't tell her that, so he just said, "Who knows. Listen, little one, I have to go quickly. I'll come back if I can. If I can't, you be careful."

He slipped out of the room and went directly to Don's office. Don looked up as the door opened. "Where have you been all night? Snape came and told me that you were missing all night, and today you haven't gone to any of your morning classes."

"I spent the night with Hermione, and I've been hiding under a bed all morning," Draco explained. Don didn't ask for details.

"Listen, I think I found out something interesting. You know that Vampire, Sanguini?"

"Yes," Draco harped, "And by the way, how disgusting! You had him lick Hermione's leg!"

"Shut up," Don said plainly. "There was a method to my madness. First, I knew he was a friend of Nick's, so I hoped he would be able to heal her, but also, I knew that he was an immortal, so I had hoped that his memory of past and future events would be different than ours. I had hoped that if he had contact with Hermione now, perhaps he would contact her in the future, and he did. I just received an Owl from him."

"You're pretty smart," Draco stated. "I always assumed you were the muscle in this operation."

"And you're just the pretty face," Don said dryly. "Listen to me, do you know what this means? It means we can find out what's happening in the future. He knows it all as its happening. The future him can relay things that are happening here to Nick and Hermione, and the past him can relay things to us."

"Has he told you anything yet?" he asked.

"No, but he said he told Dumbledore everything last night, after he healed Hermione. He's coming tomorrow night to talk to me, in the forbidden forest."

"I want to come along," Draco said.

"I want you to, also," Draco explained. "But for now, go to your classes."

The next day was a Saturday. Draco woke early, anxious about their meeting that night with the vampire. He knew he had to work on the cabinet for a while, but there was also a match against Gryffindor and Hufflepuff that day. He didn't remember if he went to the match the first time, or worked on the cabinet, but he decided to go to the Room of Requirement and work on the cabinet.

He worked for several hours, and when he came out of the room, Potter was there waiting for him, in his full Quidditch gear.

"I'm tired of seeing your face," Draco said honestly.

"What are you doing in the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked.

"Right, like I'd tell you. Why don't you just come in and find out, oh, that's right, you can't, can you Potter?" Draco sneered. He remembered Hermione telling him that Harry spent weeks trying to get into the room the first sixth year, to try to find out what Draco was doing in there, and he was never successful.

Draco started down the hall and Harry said, "Why did I see you leaving the Hospital Wing yesterday?"

Draco hadn't seen Potter. He was probably under that stupid cloak of his, although this might be a trick. Draco said, "I was no where near the Hospital wing, Potter. It's too full of Gryffindors for my taste."

"You were in there with Hermione, weren't you? Are you bothering her again?" Harry demanded.

Draco leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He willed himself not to hex the younger man. He said, "Give it a rest, Potter. Granger's in no danger from me. She never was, and never will be, okay? Why don't you give the quest to find out the memory about Horcruxes from Slughorn as much energy as you're giving the quest to bother me?" Draco immediately knew he had said too much when he opened his eyes and Harry had drawn his wand.

"Did Hermione tell you that?" Harry barked. "What did she tell you about Horcruxes?"

"Nothing Potter!" Draco shouted back. He didn't know what to say to cover his blunder. He shouldn't know about the fact that Harry was supposed to find out about Horcruxes from Slughorn. "Maybe I'm privy to some things that you'll never know. Ask the Headmaster! He'll vouch for me! He'll tell you that I'm not out to harm you." In his head, Draco tacked on the words, 'I'm just out to harm him.' "Go on! Go ask him! I'm tired of this! You have more important things to do this year, you bloody fool! Try protecting your friends, and try to uncover that memory and leave me the hell alone!" Draco pushed past him with his shoulder and he started toward his dorm.

He ran into Blaise on the way there.

"We have to talk," Blaise said.

"Please, not now," Draco said wearily.

"It's about Granger and her injury yesterday. I know who was behind it." He pulled Draco into an empty classroom. "Listen, I've been observing everyone in Slytherin, ever since you told me that you heard a distinct woman's voice and a man's voice that day you and Granger were attacked on the dock, back in the fall. I've been following Pansy. She's definitely been up to something. The odd thing is, I've caught her meeting someone twice now, and once was just last night, after Granger's attack."

"Who did she meet?" Draco asked.

"Terry Boot," he answered.

Draco shook his head and said, "But, Terry Boot is trying to help us. I mean, he wouldn't hurt her. He even guarded Hermione that day in the woods, in his wolf form."

"Have you ever seen him in his wolf form before?" Blaise asked.

Draco racked his brain to remember. The answer was that while he knew what the other three brothers looked like as wolves, he had never seen Terry that way. He answered by saying, "But Hermione said it was him."

"And has _this_ Hermione ever seen him in wolf form?" Blaise questioned. "I'm telling you, it probably wasn't him, and I really don't think the panther is Ellen. I mean, it doesn't make sense that it would be, since the vampire, the wolf and the panther all stood guard over her that day. Hermione just assumed it was Terry. You have to tell his brothers of my suspicions."

Draco knew his fellow Slytherin was right. Blaise was here to help them, so he would have no reason to lie. "Continue to watch Pansy, and let me know if she does anything else. I'll let Don know about his brother."

Draco had no clue as to what they would do if Terry were now their enemy.

**And Harry Makes Three:**

Hermione was sitting with Ron on his bed, listening to the hilarious commentary provided by Luna for the Quidditch match when suddenly the commentary stopped.

"What do you suppose happened?" Hermione asked Ron, wide eyed.

"Don't know," Ron answered. A few moments later, Harry was brought into the Hospital Wing unconscious.

After an hour, Harry woke up. He saw both Ron and Hermione peering down at him. "What happened?" he asked.

"You have a fractured skull," Hermione said, reaching over and stroking his bangs off his forehead.

"I'm going to kill McClaggen! He hit me in the head with a beater's bat!" Harry said, trying to sit up, though he felt woozy.

"Yeah well, Pomfrey said you aren't suppose to exert yourself, and killing someone would definitely be under the title of exertion, so forget it for now, mate," Ron said with a smile.

Harry patted the bed and said, "Come here Hermione." Hermione sat on the edge of Harry's bed, and Ron sat on the edge of his own, right beside them. "Did you tell Malfoy about Horcruxes?"

She gasped, and thought carefully how to respond. She had asked him about them, but she hadn't told him about how Harry was supposed to get Slughorn's memory, did she? She said, "Why are you asking me that?"

"Well, he mentioned it earlier. I caught him coming out of the Room of Requirement, and when I told him that I caught him leaving here earlier, I asked him if he was seeing you. He denied it, and then he told me that I should spend more time trying to uncover the Horcrux memory from Slughorn, and less time worry about him. So, Hermione, I'll ask once more. Did you tell him about my task?"

Hermione stood up and frowned. "NO! I didn't tell him. I did ask him if he knew what a Horcrux was, but he wouldn't tell me. He said that we needed to find that out on our own!"

Ron looked shocked. He looked over at Harry, who looked angrier than Ron had ever seen him. Harry sat up, with difficulty, and said, "I can't trust you anymore! If you keep consorting with Malfoy, then I cannot be your friend, and I can't trust you with any of our secrets. Pick Hermione. Him or me."

"Harry, I would never, ever, compromise anything that you trust to tell me! I would never hurt you!"

"Then stop seeing him!" Harry spat.

She started to cry. "He's not out to hurt any of us." She wanted to tell Harry more, but she couldn't, just as she couldn't tell Draco more of Harry's secrets. "I'm caught in the middle, Harry! I love you both."

Ron stood up and said, "You love Malfoy?"

Hermione continued to cry. Just then, Don Boot walked in. He heard Ron's question. He said, "Back down, Weasley." He put his arm around Hermione. She turned into his chest and continued to cry.

"I'm only going to say this once and if you don't believe me, then that's your choice, but you can ask Dumbledore for verification, if you want. Draco isn't going to hurt any of you. He won't hurt Hermione. She hasn't revealed any secrets to him, or to anyone, nor will she." He looked at Hermione and said, "Will you?" She shook her head no.

"You three need to trust each other, and don't turn on one another, because believe me, you have much worse times coming ahead, and you'll need each other, more than anyone will ever need anyone else. Remember that. Friends are important in the bleak times that we find ourselves in, gentlemen." He urged Hermione to her bed, and sat her down. He used his wand to put the screen back in place, and then he put up a silencing charm.

"Hermione, you have to keep the fact that you and Draco have a future a secret, do you understand? You should never have told them that you loved him," he scolded.

She nodded, because she understood. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are. Draco and I have gone all about this in the wrong way from the beginning, but hopeful, help is on the way. Draco and I are meeting Sanguini and someone else in the forest tonight, and I need you to come along with me. The thing is, Hermione, you need to be strong for me, because apparently you and I are going into hiding for a while."

"Where are we going, and why?" she asked.

"I don't know the where yet, but the why, I can tell you. Apparently, Nick thinks someone needs to come and take your place for a while, okay? I promise, though, it won't be long, and I'll keep you safe."

"Who's taking my place?" she asked.

He put his arms back around her and said, "You are."

She looked up at him confused, he nodded, and then she understood.


	32. Part XXXII

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXII:**

**Hermione Granger meets the Past:**

The hallway outside the Hospital wing was pitch dark. Don looked at his watch. It was a little bit after midnight. He had a notebook tucked under one arm, and a heavy satchel slung over his shoulder. He hated that he had to go away, but he knew he had no choice. He walked silently into the infirmary, looked over at Harry and Ron, ascertained that they were sleeping, and then he padded over to Hermione's bed. "Hermione, wake up, it's time to go." Don Boot roused Hermione Granger softly, by touching her shoulder and whispering in her ear. He didn't want anyone else in the Hospital Wing, namely, Harry or Ron, to hear them.

She opened her eyes, saw Don, and said, "Where are we going?"

"To the Forbidden Forest. You have to trust me, okay?" he said. He stepped away from the screen as she quickly dressed. He hated lying to her about going away, but if everything turned out the way he hoped it would, she would never be aware of anything. He felt like such a fool. He traveled back here, based on a hunch, dragged Draco with him, by using the magic of the blue moon. Then he found out from his brother Nick and the Vampire Sanguini that they should have traveled back using the same spell that Ellen and apparently, Paul used. He felt like such a failure. He was supposed to protect Draco and Hermione, and now it would be up to the future Hermione to protect all of them, once again.

If she was successful, none of the participants from the past, and none of the participants that traveled from the future without the blue moon, would be any of the wiser. They wouldn't recall any of the current events. The past would be wiped clean; the future would be set to rights, and everything will have been as it was, and was meant to be. The only people who would know anything happened would be the vampire, because of his unique makeup, and him and Draco, because they traveled by the blue moon, and they would never tell a soul what happened. If she failed, then the future would be altered. He didn't even want to think about failure.

Hermione stepped from around the screen and Don smiled at her. So much was resting on this girl, or rather, her future counterpart. So much always had and he assumed always would. He took her hand and led her quietly from the Hospital wing. Draco joined them in the outer hall.

Draco had no idea what was about to occur. Don felt it was better not to tell him that his Hermione was coming back to fix everything that they couldn't fix. He wouldn't be happy about it. Maybe they shouldn't tell him. He would feel like a failure, too, and Don would rather spare his friend such an unpleasant feeling. After Don had a long discussion with Sanguini, Nick, and Professor Dumbledore, they all agreed that Hermione needed to come back. She needed to stop Ellen. She alone would be able to send her back to the future. That was part of Nick's prophecy. If she succeeded, and she did it before the blue moon phase ended, then Helena Boot wouldn't be able to remember any of this either, which meant that she wouldn't be a threat to their future, and she wouldn't be a threat to the past for several more years. It all rested on her shoulders, and Don realized that it always had.

They continued walking down the long corridors, and Don had just one thought: Hermione had to succeed. Dumbledore felt that since the prophecy involved Hermione, it had to be up to her to see that everything was set right, so that the future could unfold the way it was supposed to unfold. Don opened the main doors by the Great Hall, looked back at Draco and Hermione, who were holding hands, and he sighed. He really was a failure.

What else could he have done at the time? Paul didn't tell him the particulars of the other time travel spell, except to say that Ellen discovered it in the stolen tome, and she used it to travel back. He only told him about the blue moon spell. He hated to think that Paul was manipulating things, and he hated to think of the reasons why. He knew that both Nick and Sanguini felt that Paul was not working against them, but Don felt that he was, since he was apparently working with his own agenda.

As they walked toward the Forbidden forest Don had another thought. He had to find Paul and ask him why he did what he did. If they all could have traveled back using the spell that he, Hermione and Ellen had used, things would have been better. Don would have come back, found Ellen, and killed her, and he would have. He would have killed her. Now the most they could do was to send her back, or let the future Hermione kill her. Hermione had already killed one mad man in the Ravenclaw cave, when Don couldn't get the job done. Hermione had already killed Helena Boot, near the Darian cave, again because Don couldn't get the job done. Now she would have to do his job for him again. Some protector he was.

He stopped walking as the reached the outskirts of the tree line near the mouth of the woods. He turned around, hugged Hermione and said, "I'm so sorry I failed you."

Draco started to put his hand on his friend's arm, not understanding what he meant, but Don had already started walking into the forest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sanguini, Nick Boot and Hermione stood in the middle of the forest. Nick said, "Now remember Hermione, the moment that you from the past comes close, you'll merge with her, because you both can't exist in this dimension. You'll immediately be in you past body, but with your current frame of mind. What we have to decide is do we want Draco to know."

"Why wouldn't we want him to know?" Hermione asked.

Nick shrugged and looked at his friend the vampire. Sanguini said, "It might be best if he thinks his Hermione is still in the future. He might be even more reckless than he's been lately, if he finds out you've come back. Also, you've come back under a different spell than he and Don, so you can affect the future, the past, and the present, and it can affect you."

"I can die in this time?" she asked.

Nick answered. "Yes, but that won't happen. We won't let it. Still, I don't know that Draco should know. I agree that he won't react well. I don't know Draco as well as Don does, because I've only meet him in this time period a few times, but Don says he's quite volatile at times, and ruled by his emotions. It's best that we keep him in the dark, if we can."

Hermione sighed and said, "Fine. I just want to find Ellen, send her back and get back to my life. Are you sure the spell that you gave me will send her back?" She looked up at Nick.

"Dumbledore says it will. Remember, we have to draw her out first. We aren't certain who she inhabits in the time, and we don't want to harm that other person's body."

"What happens to her when she goes back to the future? Will she wake from her coma?" Hermione asked.

Sanguini nodded and assured her, "Yes, and then Don and Nick's father will take care of her, rest assured."

Hermione didn't want to think about that at the moment. She was too worried about the imminent future. "Once the me from the past comes into view, we'll merge, but it will be my mind and consciousness that exist on this level, right?" she confirmed.

The vampire answered by leaning his chin on her shoulder as he stood behind her and said, "Yes lovely, and your pretty little body in the future will be tucked safely in my lair, I mean my home. I'll watch it carefully." He wiggled his eyebrows. She hunched her shoulder to remove his chin, frowned at him, and turned back around to wait.

**First, There were Two, then There was One:**

Hermione saw Don Boot walking toward them. She thought she saw Draco's head through the winter foliage, but it was very dark in the forest, and there was little moonlight. Suddenly, everything became hazy, her vision blurred, and the next thing she knew she was walking behind Draco and Don, her hand in Draco's hand, being pulled _toward _Sanguini and Nick.

Draco turned to look at her and he smiled and said, "I see them now, little one. Almost there." He turned back to look at the trail.

She stopped dead. She pulled her hand from his. He turned back to her and said, "What's wrong?"

She wanted to run to his arms, through her arms around his neck, and kiss him. She had missed him so very much, for so very long. Just hearing him call her 'little one' brought a tide of emotions to the surface. Draco. She was back with Draco. She had tears in the back of her eyes, and her chest ached.

Don turned toward them, too, and he suddenly knew it was she. He smiled. She looked from Draco to Don and said, "I'm fine." Draco reached for her hand again, but she tucked both hands behind her back. She passed the two men on the trail. She saw Nick and Sanguini, they were alone, and she knew it had worked. She was in her past body. From the look on their faces, they knew it had worked as well.

Draco asked, "We're meeting the vampire and Nick?"

Don turned to Draco and said, "Yes, apparently." He walked up to Nick, hugged him, and asked, "Any news on Paul?"

Nick shook his head. He said, "Not here or in the future, from what I've deduced. Listen, Sanguini filled me in and I'll help you look for him here, okay? Are you still planning on leaving the school to look for him?"

"I don't see that I've done much good here," Don said. He turned to Draco, who looked confused.

"You're leaving?" Draco asked.

"Draco, I've made so many mistakes with this. I've really botched things up; I have to fix it, and the best way for me to do this is to find Paul, and find out what he knows. We need to find out if he's privy to why Ellen came back, and who she is in this time. We only have a limited amount of time left. You and Hermione will continue things here, and Sanguini is going to help. Dumbledore has given him my position as apprentice to Slughorn, so he'll be here if you need help."

Draco looked desperate. "NO! You have to stay here! We came together, and we've not even accomplished anything yet, and I can't protect Hermione on my own!"

"Yes you can, and listen, you're right," Don began, "we haven't accomplished our goal, and it's high time we did. I'm doing what I think is best. Finding Paul is our best bet, and we can't do that from Hogwarts." He hugged his best friend, and then he walked up to Hermione.

"I've missed you," Don said. He handed her his notebook, and she accepted it without question.

Hermione hugged him and said, "I've missed you, too." Then she whispered in his ear, "You're godfather to Carina, you know."

That made him smile. He looked over at Draco, back to Hermione, and told her, "Only reveal the truth to him if you have to, okay? I'll be in touch."

"What truth?" Draco gasped. "What's going on here? I thought we came to the forest to meet someone, and now you're leaving! You're abandoning us! Giving up! You're a coward. If I have to relive this year, the least you could do is stay with me!"

Don put his hand on Draco's arm and said, "Not everything is about you. I think that perhaps you've been back in your 16-year-old body a bit too long, because you sound like a spoiled brat. I love you, just the same, though. I'm not leaving completely. I'll be in contact with you." He walked over to his brother, and they both jogged away from the other three.

Sanguini said, "Well, I don't want to feel like a third wheel, so I'll leave you two to walk back to the castle on your own. Be careful, watch out for danger, and get back to your dorm. Miss Granger, you should go back to the Hospital wing." He turned into a black mist and floated away.

Draco turned to Hermione and said, "Why did Don leave?"

"Perhaps he had to, because it's for the best," she answered.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and walking back toward the entrance of the forest.

She walked hand-in-hand with her husband, and she studied his face. He looked so young. This Draco Malfoy made her life miserable. This Draco Malfoy tried to kill their headmaster. He didn't look like the Draco Malfoy that she fell in love with, and she was sure she didn't look the same either.

She looked down at her school uniform. It had been so long since she had worn it. She felt strange in her own skin. She felt like she didn't belong. She held his hand tighter, debating whether to tell him that she was from the future, when he finally spoke. "You're very quiet."

"I know," she answered.

Without looking at her, he asked, "Is it because of what happened?"

"What happened?" she asked back.

He stopped walking and looked down at her. He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "You know. Are you feeling strange because we made love?"

Hermione couldn't process what he had just said. She felt like all the air was being pushed out of her lungs. "Because we made love?" she repeated.

He put a hand under her chin and said, "I didn't mean for it to happen, little one, but please, don't regret it, because I don't. I love you, and if it makes you feel better, you know that we would have made love in the future eventually, anyway."

Hermione squirmed from his touch. "What are you saying?" She felt betrayed. She had been home alone, in her time, missing her husband, crying countless tears for him, living an empty existence, and a celibate life, and he was back here, making goo-goo eyes at the 17-year-old Hermione, falling in love again, kissing her, touching her, and making love. It was unfair. She knew she was jealous of herself, but that didn't make it sting any less. She didn't know what to say or feel for him. She felt betrayed.

She started to run away from him. She didn't even want to look at his face. He ran after her, calling her name.

When she reached the edge of the forest, she ran right into Harry Potter's arms. "Hermione, what's wrong? I woke up and saw that you were gone! I opened the map, and saw that you were in the forest."

As he spoke, Draco ran out from the trees. "Great!" Draco exclaimed. "Potter."

Hermione looked at Draco and said, "I trusted you."

"What did I do wrong? What did I say?" he asked, not even caring what Harry Potter thought or heard.

Harry drew his wand. "This is the very last time I'm warning you against her. Leave her alone!"

That was when Hermione knew that this was for the best. She wouldn't tell Draco that she was from the future. He would be safer that way, and besides, she was hurt. She felt deceived and duped by him. He didn't miss her at all. She was such a fool. She said, "Stay away from me, Malfoy. I don't want to have anything to do with you. Not right now."

She took Harry's hand and asked, "What day is it?"

"It's after midnight, so it's Sunday," Harry answered.

"Then let's go to the common room, instead of the Hospital wing. I have a lot to do," she declared.

Harry and Hermione started back toward the castle, leaving a bewildered Draco Malfoy behind. He felt very confused, utterly alone, and abandoned, with both Don and Hermione leaving him. He felt just as alone as he did the first time he went through this year.

**Hogwarts, how I've Missed You:**

Hermione spent the remainder of Sunday walking around the school, becoming reacquainted with it, reminiscing and regaling her life from the past. Ron was still in the Hospital wing. She had forgotten about him being poisoned. Harry hadn't yet retrieved the memory from Slughorn either, but she knew the timeframe was such that it would occur very soon. That didn't give her much time.

She studied the student body as she walked around the school. She looked at everyone suspiciously. Everyone was a suspect in her mind. Ellen could be in any one of them. Hermione would find the woman, send her back, and then go home herself. She had to get back to her daughter. She had to make the way clear for Don and Draco to come back, and then she would sort through her feelings about Draco's betrayal.

Because in her mind, he had betrayed her. He had cheated on her. He wasn't meant to come back here and hold hands with her. He was meant to come back here and find Ellen and make their future secure. She should have been the one to come back in the first place! She wouldn't have mucked everything up the way Draco and Don had. If only she hadn't been pregnant.

She missed her baby so very much. Lucius was probably filling her head with a bunch of pureblood rhetoric, and even though she was too little to know what he was saying, she would probably retain every single word. He was probably arranging her future marriage, too. If for no other reason, she had to get back to her daughter, to save her from Lucius Malfoy!

Later that evening, she sat in the Library, going over all of Don Boot's notes of everything that had happened so far. The way Hermione saw it, there was more here than met the eye. For instance, who was the wolf that protected the younger Hermione on the road from Hogsmeade that day a few months ago? Don's notes stated that Hermione thought it was Terry, but Don doubted that very much. Who was the panther? Don wasn't certain it was Ellen, and neither was she. Hermione lifted the notes from the folder, set them aside and started writing her own notes. Writing things repeatedly always helped her to think and to sort things out.

She heard the sounds of footsteps. She looked up and saw Blaise Zabini coming toward her. She went back to her work.

"Working hard on a late Sunday afternoon, Granger?" he asked as he leaned on the table.

"Shoo," she said, without looking up. She picked up Don's notes again to study them, but she felt that Blaise was still staring at her. She looked up. "What do you want?"

He pulled out a chair opposite her and sat down. He reached over for the notes that she had lain back on the table, but she snatched them away from him quickly.

"Studying?" he asked.

She huffed and said, "Go away."

"Where's Professor Boot? That looks like his handwriting on those notes, and I heard from Draco that he's left for a sabbatical, and is being replaced by that vampire," he stated.

She regarded him for a moment and responded with, "First, I don't know where Professor Boot has gone, since I'm not responsible for him. Second, these are his notes, and I'm studying a difficult potion, and how do you know his handwriting, anyway?"

"Did you steal his notes, or did he give them to you?" he asked, not answering her question of how he knew Don's handwriting.

"What is with you?" she barked back. She didn't have time for this. First, this boy had never spoken to her once in her entire life, so why was he speaking with her now? She reached into her bag and made sure she had her wand.

She had read in Don's notes that Blaise Zabini had claimed that he was sent to the past by her father-in-law, but she found that extremely unlikely. She found it astonishing that both Don and Draco accepted his word as gospel, without any trepidation. Frankly, she found his claim to be dubious, at best. Lucius Malfoy had never mentioned this interesting tidbit to Hermione, and besides, if Lucius had known the Ravenclaw spell to go back to the past, he would have probably gone back himself, instead of sending Blaise Zabini, who as far as Hermione knew, hadn't even seen Draco or Lucius for years.

Second, the spell that Hermione used to come back, which was also the spell that Paul Boot and Ellen used, was written by Rowena Ravenclaw, and was in a book that was stolen from the Brotherhood of the Raven. Nick Boot and Sanguini were carefully guarding this spell. If Lucius had access to that book, he would have told her, because he wanted Draco back as badly as she did. If Lucius had access to that spell, he might have already suggested that she come back. None of this made sense to her. She believed that Blaise Zabini was lying about at least two things, maybe three. One – He was lying about being sent back by Lucius. Two – He was lying about the manner in which he traveled back, and the possible third lie was the most disconcerting of them all. He might not be Blaise Zabini at all.

Something about this snake wasn't right. Her guess was that he was someone else altogether. She pointed toward the other table and said, "Please go pollute the air over there."

He laughed and leaned toward her and said, "We're on the same side, Granger."

"Not likely, Zabini," she sneered back. He stood up, and reached out for her, but drew his hand back when she leaned back against her chair, eyes wide in apprehension. He shook his head and went to the table opposite hers, picked up a book, and with his back to her, he began to read.

Hermione started going back through Don's notes and saw that he had written that when he originally contacted the Paul Boot of this time, Paul seemed oblivious to anything from the future, which made Don believe that he was the Paul of the here and now. That would mean if Paul had traveled back using the same spell as Hermione and Ellen, but wasn't using his own body, as Hermione did, he might inhabit someone else, like Ellen.

Who better to inhabit than someone close to Draco, be it friend or foe. Either way, it made sense, especially since Hermione was no longer sure if Paul was friend or foe.

She looked toward Blaise, where he sat with his back to her, still pretending to read. She decided to test her theory. In a perfectly normal voice, she said, "Paul, is that you?"

Blaise turned around and stared at her with a frown. Just the fact that he turned around was proof to her that her theory was correct. The future Paul was pretending to be Blaise Zabini. She quickly started to gather together all of her papers and folders, as he threw the book he was reading down and stormed back over to her table. He reached for her arm, and grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull it from his grasp as he asked, "Hermione, is that you?"

He dropped her arm suddenly when he heard, "Let her go, Zabini."

Blaise turned to find Draco standing behind him. Without looking back at Hermione, he ran out of the library.

Hermione knew for sure that he was really Paul, but she had a bigger problem. Now he knew that she wasn't Hermione from the past, but Hermione from the future.


	33. Part XXXIII

**Part XXXIII:**

**An Unhappy Hermione:**

Draco watched Blaise run off, and then turned to Hermione and said, "What did he want?"

"Nothing," she said without looking up from her notes.

"What's going on with you?" He pulled out the chair beside her and sat down. "Why are you avoiding me?"

"Which question should I answer first?" she snapped at him.

"Fine, answer why you're avoiding me?" he retorted.

She whispered loudly, "Because that's the way it's supposed to be! If you had only remembered that, I wouldn't even have to be here! If you would remember that you are a grown man, in your twenties, and not a sixteen year old boy ruled by his hormones, then maybe you would have found Ellen by now, and you could go back where you belong!"

"First," he said, very confused, "I can't go back where I belong until the end of the blue moon phase, in May. Second, what are you talking about, little one?"

She took a deep breath. "First, don't call me that, second," she said, mocking him from moments before, "you're acting like an impetuous child! We aren't meant to be friends in this time, and we certainly aren't meant to be lovers! What if you can't go back, Draco! You'll have changed the course of history if you don't go back! You never make things easy, do you? Maybe just once I want you to take care of things for me, and not have it be the other way around!"

He seriously didn't know what to think about her statement. "What did I do? Tell me, little one."

"I told you, don't call me that!" she hissed louder.

"Why not? You've never minded before," he said.

She folded the notebook in front of her and huffed in frustration. "That's what you call your wife!"

"You are my wife," he said.

She pushed him. She physically placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed, although since they were both in chairs he didn't move at all. "You are so stupid!" she seethed, at a loss for words. "I'm not yet your wife! Do you even care about your Hermione any longer? Do you care what she's going through? Do you think about her, and your baby? Do you miss them? Did you know that in your time someone tried to kill her, more than once? Do you know that someone wants to kill your baby? Do you care? Do you know how much your wife has cried for you? You stupid, bloody, stupid man!" She started to cry.

He stared at her forever. "How do you know about attempts on the lives of my wife and baby?" he asked softly, but frantically. "Tell me, what's happened to you?"

"You don't love her any longer do you?" she asked between tears.

"Who?" he asked. He reached out for her but she stood up quickly to get away from his hand. She knocked over her chair in her haste to get away from him. Seamus ran over to her.

"Hermione, is he bothering you?" Seamus asked.

"Yes, he is," she said truthfully. "Will you wait here with me, Seamus, until I gather my things, and then walk me back to our tower?"

"Of course," Seamus answered.

Draco stood up and said, "I'll leave. I won't bother you again. I'm sorry. I really, really don't know what's going on, but if you want to be left alone, I'll leave you alone." He turned to go, looked back over his shoulder, and then said, "But the answer to your question is yes. I love her very, very much, and I miss her more than you could ever know, and I haven't forgotten her." He walked away with his head down. Hermione sat back at the table and cried harder.

Terry Boot stood against a wall on the other side of the library, observing the scene in front of him. He walked over to Seamus and Hermione. Seamus had his hand on Hermione's back, to try to comfort her as she cried. Terry sat down beside her and said, "Hermione, are you okay?"

She looked up. It was Terry. She was traumatized to see him again. The last time she saw him was the day he died, many years ago, yet here he was, sitting before her. It was suddenly too much for her. She threw her arms around him and wept more. "Oh, Terry. I can't believe it's really you," she said. He patted her back, confused by her statement. The librarian came over and told them to take her to the Hospital Wing.

Seamus picked up her things, and Terry walked with his arms around her all the way to the Hospital Wing. Ron and Harry were playing Wizard's chess on Harry's hospital bed as they entered. Both boys stood up and ran over to them. Seamus put her books down and went to get the Medi-witch.

"What happened?" Ron asked. He walked around to them and took the sobbing Hermione from Terry's arms.

"It seems she had some kind of disagreement with Blaise Zabini, and then Draco Malfoy. Seamus went over to them, and then Draco left. When I walked over to see if she was okay, she broke down," he explained to her friends.

Harry ushered Hermione over to his bed and sat her down. She was still crying. She pulled Ron down with her, and he kept his arms around her. Madame Pomfrey came toward them and said, "She should never have left the hospital wing so early. Take her back over to her bed, Mr. Weasley."

Ron lifted her up as if she didn't weigh a thing, and placed her on her bed. The Medi-witch ushered Seamus and Terry out of the room, as she administered a calming potion to the hysterical girl.

Terry and Seamus walked back out into the hallway. Terry looked over at Seamus and said, "You know, I've been watching you, and I don't trust you."

Seamus said, "And I you." They glared at each other for a while longer, and then they went in opposite directions down the corridor.

Back in the Hospital wing, Hermione wouldn't let go of Ron's hand, so he was forced to sit on her bed, and Harry sat on the chair beside it.

She began to calm down. She was drowsy. She asked, "Harry, have you gotten the memory yet? You have to get that memory."

"I will, Hermione, don't worry," Harry said as he patted her hand.

"Ron?" she asked. He lay down beside her, over the covers, and stroked her hair.

"What, Hermione?" he asked.

"Have we gone to Hogsmeade yet for the Apparition test?"

He gave Harry an odd stare, but then said, "It's this coming Friday, Hermione. You and I are going, but Harry's not old enough yet, remember?"

"Good, I'm glad I haven't missed that yet. I have something to do in Hogsmeade," she said. "I'm so tired of all of this. I miss my family so much." She started to cry again, thinking about Draco, and missing her baby. "I miss her so much. I miss her so, so much."

Neither young man knew to whom she referred, and neither asked.

Ron was soon asleep beside her. She stayed awake much longer than he did. She continued to talk until she finally calmed down. She said things like, "When will it stop," and "I really thought he loved me." The last thing she said before she finally closed her eyes was, "I can't believe Draco betrayed me. I thought we would be together forever." She finally slept, though it was an uneasy sleep.

Harry stayed in the chair and watched them both, though after a few hours, he went over to his hospital bed, found the marauders map, and opened it. He looked for Draco Malfoy's footsteps. He located them around Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He stood up, got his cloak, and went to make sure Hermione and Ron were both asleep. When he was certain that they were, he went to find Malfoy. He was going to put an end to it once and for all.

**An Unhappy Draco Malfoy:**

"I don't know what I did wrong," he cried in the boy's bathroom on the sixth floor. It was the same bathroom he had used several times this year, as well as the first time he was living this year, to be alone. Moaning Myrtle stood behind him.

"It's okay, don't cry," the ghost said. "You're such a sensitive boy. You always were. You were upset the last time you were here, too. So worried about her. You must really love her."

"I do," he said. "I don't know what happened to make her suddenly turn on me, but she's right. I did all of this wrong. I failed her. I fail at everything. I have always been a failure, and I always will. I'll never be good enough for her. I just want to go home. I want my wife." He continued to cry. After twenty minutes, he decided he had to find Don and speak with him, somehow. That meant he would have to go to see that Vampire and demand some answers from him.

He ran down the hall, careful not to be seen, since it was well after curfew. Harry narrowly missed him. He ran into the bathroom shortly after Draco had left.

"Myrtle?" Harry asked the ghost, "Was there just another boy here?"

"Yes, but you leave him alone," she demanded. "He's a good boy, a sensitive boy. He never makes fun of me. He comes in here and tells me his problems."

"What kind of things does he tell you?" Harry asked. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"He's from the future, along with that young, good looking professor," she said with a smile. "I'm the only one that knows. Well, that's not true, that vampire, a few of the other professors, and that friend of yours, that girl, she knows."

Harry approached Myrtle and said, "What do you mean, he's from the future?"

"I can't tell you anymore, Harry Potter, so don't ask me. He's my friend, and I won't betray his confidence. He says that you don't trust him. You think he wants to hurt her, but he loves her. He's in love with her, and he's married to her in the future. Leave him alone!" The ghost flew into one of the stalls and splashed into one of the toilet bowls, water spurting upwards as she went into the U-bend.

Harry was more confused than ever. He had to find out what was going on, and soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been an odd week for Harry Potter. He tried to talk to Myrtle again, but she still wouldn't betray Malfoy's confidence. He tried to talk to Hermione, but when she wasn't in class, she was studying by herself in the Library. He could tell that she wasn't studying any of their subjects, but she wouldn't tell Harry what she was doing.

It had been a frenzied week for Hermione Granger. She thought she was on to something, but she wouldn't know for sure until she got to Hogsmeade on Friday. Harry kept badgering her about Malfoy, Malfoy kept staring at her longingly, Blaise kept staring at her suspiciously, and for some reason, it seemed that both Terry Boot and Seamus were following her, but they never acted as if they were together. By the end of the week, she was exasperated, and glad to go to Hogsmeade, if for no other reason, to get away from everyone and Hogwarts.

It had been a stressful week for Draco Malfoy. He had finally fixed the cabinet again, but he hardly cared. He missed Hermione, but she was ignoring him, which was how it should be, he knew, but that didn't make it sting any less. Harry Potter was still a constant thorn in his side. In addition, he missed Don more than he thought he would. He had no one to confide to, to tell his problems and concerns. He would have talked to Blaise, but Blaise was suddenly standoffish as well. The only time Blaise wanted to talk to him, it was to ask about Don Boot, and to ask why Don left. Draco was honest with him and he told him he had no clue. The other odd thing was that Draco saw Blaise having a disagreement with Terry Boot in the corridor, and when Draco asked Blaise what it was about, Blaise told Draco that not everything involved him, and to leave it alone. He felt more isolated and alone than he did the first time here.

When Friday finally came around, most of the sixth year students went to Hogsmeade, to take their Apparition tests. Harry, who wouldn't be seventeen until the end of July, had to stay behind. Draco Malfoy, who wasn't seventeen until June, was forced to stay behind as well. Harry was glad. He wanted to corner Malfoy, and find out once and for all what was going on, and to what Myrtle was referring when she said that Draco was from the future. It didn't make sense to Harry, but perhaps it had something to do with whatever the Dark Lord had set Draco to do.

Harry, Ernie and Draco were the only three sixth years in potion. Professor Slughorn told them to work on anything that they wanted. Harry looked through the Half-blood prince's book and found a spell for Euphoria. He decided to brew it. He walked over to the storeroom as Draco was leaving it.

He whispered, "Hey Draco, guess what Moaning Myrtle told me?"

"That she loves you?" Draco asked with disdain, plopping his ingredients on his table.

Harry leaned forward so that Ernie and the Professor Slughorn couldn't hear, and said, "She told me that you're from the future. Are you a nutter now? Do you believe you're from the future? What's the future like, anyway?" Harry laughed.

"Not bad, Potter," Draco said, "Except you're still there." Draco shouldered past him and went back into the storeroom for another ingredient. Harry walked in behind him.

"She also says that you're married to Hermione in the future. What a load of rubbish. You wish, aye?" Harry blocked the door.

Draco turned around and said, "I am so tired of this. Go make your stupid potion, and leave me be. I don't care what you believe, and what you don't. But you know what, people can change, Potter. Don't doubt that. And I didn't lie to the ghost. If you don't believe me, ask your precious Dumbledore, oh, that's right, he always likes to leave you in the dark. The less information he gives you the better, in his book. But still, he knows it's the truth. I don't care what you believe."

Draco walked past Harry, but then turned in the doorway. "I marry Hermione someday. We fall in love, and have a daughter. You and I are never friends, so don't worry about that. Oh, and I came back to this time because someone's trying to kill her. Don't worry about that, though. We don't need you. Just find that memory, so that you can be the saviour that everyone makes you out to be, okay?" Draco felt defeated. He turned back toward the room, and went back out to the table.

The strangest feeling came over Harry. Merlin help him, he believed the bastard.

**Hogsmeade, Apparition, and Potions, oh my:**

Ron and Hermione, along with the other sixth years who were seventeen by the first day of March, all convened in Hogsmeade, the last Friday of the Month, for their Apparition test.

Blaise would be in Hogsmeade for the Apparition test, and he would corner Granger and find out exactly what was going on. After all, he was here for her, and he knew in his heart that it was the future Hermione here now. He wasn't sure how long she had been here, but he would imagine that it wasn't very long. He knew that as well as he knew that he wasn't really Blaise Zabini. He would find out why she came back, and he would send her back to the future. She was going to mess everything up, and he wouldn't allow that. He couldn't allow it. He had already sacrificed too much.

Later in the village, after having already completed, and passing, their Apparition test, Ron walked hand in hand with Hermione toward the Three Broomsticks.

"Won't Lavender wonder why you're here with me, instead of her?" Hermione asked Ron as they found a seat.

"We aren't really getting along at the moment," Ron said with a sheepish grin. "She's jealous of you, even though we're just friends. It's okay, though. I'm not ready to get serious with anyone. Hey, Hermione, I've been wondering. Is something wrong between you and Malfoy?"

She took a drink of butterbeer and said, "In what sense?"

"Well, in Hospital, you told Harry and I that you loved him, and trusted him, and now suddenly he's back to being enemy number one, which is fine by me, but what happened?"

"I told you that I loved him?" she asked. She knew that must have been the younger she who had made that proclamation. It was worse than she imagined. They were in love. That made her more sad than angry.

"Yes, you did, and you said that you trusted him. Did he do something to betray that trust?" Ron urged.

"Yes, in a sense, he did," Hermione said. "But it's nothing you or Harry need to worry about, Ron. He won't hurt either of you, or me, I know that for a fact, okay?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Just then, Blaise, along with Pansy, Theo Nott, and Vincent Crabbe came into the bar.

"Oh, isn't love grand?" Pansy said. "I thought you were head-over-heels for Draco, Mudblood."

"Ignore her," Ron told Hermione.

"The blood traitor and the Mudblood, I swear, it's like you're meant to be," Pansy said with a laugh.

Blaise gave Hermione a small smile. She didn't understand it, and she didn't return it. Dean and Seamus walked in shortly after the Slytherins appeared, and joined the pair at their table. Soon, the three boys were regaling their mutual stories of Apparition, and Hermione decided now would be a good time to do the one thing we desperately needed to do. She told Ron that she wanted to go buy a new quill, then she would meet him later, and they could walk back to school together. As soon as she left the Three Broomsticks, she took off in a sprint, heading up the lane that would take her to an old abandoned house, which in her time was her home. She had a hunch about something, and she needed to check it out.

Blaise followed her at a safe distance.

* * *

_A/N: There will be some Draco/Hermione interaction in the next chapter. Only seven chapters to go._


	34. Part XXXIV

**Part XXXIV:**

**Hermione's House and a Whale of a Tale:**

Hermione stood outside her future home and looked up at it in wonder. It was so different. The paint, an indescribable grey colour, was weathered and worn. The porch railing was missing banisters. The roof had holes, where the slate had fallen. The shrubs were overgrown. There were boards nailed up at the windows. If she didn't know any better, she would assume this was her house in the future, instead of her house from the past. She knew that when Draco bought it (without telling her by the way), he stated that it needed a lot of work, and that their mothers had worked hard to redecorated it, but seriously, this almost looked beyond repair.

She climbed the familiar porch and went to the front door. She took out her wand to open the door with magic, but when she placed her hand on the wood, it opened with just a small push of her hand. She walked inside, lit her wand, and began to meander around the downstairs.

She wasn't completely sure what she was looking for, but she knew that in the future, she had found something interesting in the book on the founders that Draco had given her years before. She found it a few weeks before she came back, and knew that she had never seen it there before, and then one day, inexplicably, it appeared. It was a note, stuck between the parts separating Slytherin and Hufflepuff, and all it said was, "_**A future untold, is untold by you and you alone. It won't be untold from the past, but in the future. Go to the past, and go to your house in Hogsmeade, to discover the way to seal your future, without disrupting the past. **_" She didn't know what it meant at the time, it wasn't in a familiar handwriting, and seeing that she had read that book several times, cover to cover, and had never seen the note before, she knew it had to be significant. At the time, she thought it was a message from Draco, because the book belonged to his family in the past. Still, wouldn't Draco have been less cryptic? A bit imperceptive? Wouldn't he have said something simplistic such as, "Hi, Hermione, I love you"?

She looked around the room, which would be her future library, and turned sharply, back toward the door, when she heard a creak in the floorboard in the foyer. She ducked into the corner of the room, when she heard a familiar voice say, "Hermione? Are you in here?"

She moved quickly from the corner, brandishing her wand in front of her, and she said, "What are you doing here, Blaise Zabini?"

"That's just it, I'm not Blaise Zabini, which I think you've figured out, and furthermore, you're not Hermione Granger, are you? You're Hermione Malfoy." He held his hands up and said, "May we talk openly? Without any hexes or curses? I really don't mean you any harm, and I don't want you to do any harm to me."

"Are you Paul Boot?" she asked.

"I'm a Boot, but not Paul," he answered. He cocked his head toward the room that was her living room in the future. He moved gingerly into the room, his hands still in the air. He said, "Will you remove the boards from the windows so we can see? I would, but I'm afraid to pull out my wand. I've heard that you're more capable with magic than most, and I don't want to do anything to bring me pain or discomfort." He smiled and said, "I'm funny, like that."

She pointed her wand toward first one window, then the other, and the boards from the outside flew away. The windows were dirty, but it was considerably lighter in the room. He pulled up a crate, sat down and said, "God, you look so much like her. I can't believe it. There's another crate in the corner, if you want to join me."

Hermione didn't know who he thought she looked like. "Just talk. I don't need to sit," she said. "Why did you follow me?"

"I had hoped you would come here, and I followed you to talk to you. First, I want you to confirm to me that you're really from the future. What's your daughter's name?"

"Carina," she answered slowly, uncertain if she should. "What does that prove to you? I could be the Hermione from the past, and Draco could have told me that."

"True," he said. "But the future you would know where her port-wine stain is located, and only someone from the future would know that she had a port-wine stain, yes?"

Her daughter did have a port-wine birthmark on her forehead. It was very faint, and Hermione was assured when she was born that it would probably fade one day, yet how did this man know this? "I know where it's located, do you know?" she asked.

He smiled and said, "On her forehead, although in the future, it's only visible when she's very upset, which is actually often. I'm glad it's you. So you got my message, in the book?"

"Listen, before I say anything else, tell me who you are," she urged.

"I'm sorry." He stood up and said, "My name's Mark Boot, and I only inhabit the body of Blaise Zabini. My father is Nick Boot. I'm from the future, too, not your future, but beyond. And someday, I'll be your son-in-law, Mum." He smiled again, and for some insane reason, Hermione immediately believed him.

"Tell me why you sent me that note, and what we're all doing here. I'm ready for this to be over with, because I need to go home," she declared.

He said, "The phenomenon of the blue moon usually only happens twice every one hundred years. This means that travel back and forth, without changing the past, can only happen between these two periods contained in the same century."

"But a strange alignment of planets in this century will cause it to happen three times in this hundred year period. I don't have to tell you how magical the number three is. It is very significant. What that means is that it happens this year, the year of your present time, and again, in twenty-five years."

"So you've come from the future to help me? Why?" she inquired.

"Because while your husband and my Uncle Don Boot traveled to the past to try to stop Helena and Ellen, Helena came to the future, which I'm sure you didn't know. All of the strange things and the attempts on your life in your time are because of her."

"This was unexpected. She has no real ulterior motives in coming to the future, except to be sure that Draco and Don never come home. She can't really exist in the future, because she's dead. Unlike the spell that we used, she does not inhabit a body, but exists more as a spirit; or rather, what we call a shadow. If Don and Draco don't come home within the blue moon phase, they'll essentially cease to exist in the future, and we don't even know the implications of that. That's what she wants to happen. She's counting on the fact that they'll never find Ellen, that the threat to you in the past will never cease, and that they'll think they have to stay in the past to protect you. That's why there haven't been any actual attempts on your life in this time, only bogus attempts, to keep the threat alive."

He stood up suddenly and said, "Although they can't affect the past, they can't kill Ellen or do anything in the here and now that will change the course of the future, they can influence the future if they don't return. This was something Don and my father didn't know about when they sent Don and Draco back. If they don't come back, they'll no longer be in the future. Their bodies in your time will cease to exist, and everything that really happened after your sixth year will be erased away, and changed."

"That means Draco might not go back to Hogwarts to finish his eighth year, so he might not fall in love with you."

"It means he won't be there to help you destroy Helena Boot two years later, and in fact, she might destroy you, instead. That means no more Hermione, which means something very important to me. No Carina."

Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Does your presence here already mean that something has changed?"

"Not at all. We're here as extra insurance. We traveled under the blue moon of our time, so we can't change things in the future by anything we do here either, unless we don't go back to our time at the end of the phase. We only came to guide you. The moment Sanguini became aware of you in the past and the present, he became aware of things in the future, and thus he told us. In addition, my father had a recurring dream about his brother and Draco failing, years after they originally succeeded which means something changed in the past to change the future. Who knows what it was. The only thing I know is that you have to go back to the future. Helena is there, but only as a shadow. You have to send that shadow back to the past, so that in a few years from this time, the past Hermione can destroy her with the Darian wand, as you're meant to do."

**More Explanations:**

Hermione said, "And I take it I'm the only one that can get rid of the shadow of Helena in the future? No one else can do that?"

"According to the original prophecy, you're still the only one that can destroy her. It's the ancient magic of Slytherin that dictates this prophecy," he explained.

"Why did I have to come back for you to tell me this? Why couldn't Sanguini just tell me about destroying Helena's shadow?" she asked sarcastically, "And furthermore, what if I fail?"

"Then she might survive. You might not kill her in the past as you did the first time. You can't let that happen. You have to find Don! You have to have him go back to Hogwarts, where he can be protected! That's why you had to come back. I had to explain these things to you, but also, you have to be the one to tell Draco and Don how important it is that they both come back at the right time. They might not believe anyone else."

"They can only go back to the future together, because they left together. You have to convince them both to go back to the future, at the start of the second blue moon phase, which starts in five weeks. They have to go back together, just as Carina and I will have to go back together, and at the same time as them," he reiterated. "Before they go back, you have to go back first and destroy the shadow of evil which is Helena Boot. Please, this is important to my future, and yours and you alone have to do it."

"You came back here, to make sure I go back?" she asked, for clarification.

"I couldn't travel to your time to warn you. The blue moon would only bring me to this time in the past. Carina and I came up with the plan to put that note in your book, but we couldn't reveal anything important in the note, because it might have been discovered by someone who was working with Helena and Ellen."

"I had to come back as someone who might have access to that book. I picked one of Draco's friends. I went to his house as Blaise Zabini once I got to the past, and his mother showed me the book, assuming I was there as Draco's friend, and I placed the note within."

"Since then, I've been doing my best to protect the past Hermione, along with Carina. I think I've even discovered who Ellen inhabits and who's helping her. She's in a girl named Pansy Parkinson, and though I originally thought Terry Boot was helping her, I know now it's a boy named Seamus, I don't know his last name, but he's from your house. I don't know if he's aware of what's he doing, but I believe Terry Boot is helping us independently, the best he can, with what little knowledge he has."

"Where is Carina? You said she came back, too. Where's my daughter?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"She doesn't want to appear to you. This has been hard on her. She inhabits Ellen Boot's body, which is repulsive to her, but it has given us the chance to garner a lot of useful information, and we knew that Ellen wasn't going to be using it." He laughed. "Carina's appeared as herself to Draco and Hermione of this time twice, both times in her animagus form, which is a panther, once on the road to Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, when Carina, as a panther, me as a wolf, and Sanguini, all tried to protect Hermione when she was in grave danger."

"Another time, she appeared as a panther in the forbidden forest, when you were both in danger. She suffered a great injury that time, when Don, as a wolf, attacked her, because he didn't know who she was, but she healed quickly."

"Who is Sanguini to you?" Hermione suddenly asked. "Why is he involved? How is it that he's such a good friend to us suddenly?"

"Well, he and my father Nick were always close, because he's the biological father of my mother, so I guess that makes him my granddad, although he would kill me if I called him that, since we appear to be about the same age. He was just a regular man before he became a vampire. He was married, and had a child, then he was afflicted, and his wife divorced him. My mother didn't even know of him, for the longest time."

"Are your mother and Nick married?" Hermione wondered if Mark's mother was Nick's long time fiancée.

"Yes, they married, but she's no longer living," he said regretfully.

Hermione asked, "One more thing. Where is Paul Boot, and is he working for us or against us?"

"You may not believe this, but I don't know. That's another thing I've been trying to discover. You see, in my time, My Uncle Paul is dead. I've never met him. He died the year Carina was born, which is two years before I was born. So, yeah, that would be nice to know, and maybe we can change that, too."

Hermione nodded. "What do I do first?"

"Go back to school. Tell Draco everything. I know you're upset that he fell in love with you too soon, but it's not really as if he betrayed you. He's in love with you, Hermione. It's not that he's fallen in love again. It's more as if he came back here with an intense love for his wife, which hasn't wavered, and was transferred to the younger you. Give him a break. If all goes well, and you succeed, then none of this will matter, because you won't know any of this. The only people who will be aware of any of the events of the time travel are the ones that traveled by the blue moon, which are Don, Draco, Carina and I. The rest of you'll never have any knowledge that any of this occurred."

"Second, before you go back to the future, help me find Don, and Paul. We want to time all of this perfectly. I want you to come back exactly one day before Draco and Don. We don't want to give Helena time to discover what's going on, and we don't want Ellen to discover that her mother's plan failed. We don't want her to be able to stop Don and Draco from returning."

"What will happen to Ellen?" Hermione asked.

"You vanquish the shadow of Helena, who then comes back to the past, with the inability of ever being able to time travel again, and hopefully, by that time, you'll have used another spell to bring Ellen back to your time. The same spell can bring Paul back too, but it has to happen before the blue moon phase ends. If the blue moon phase ends before Paul and Ellen are back, they won't come back either. It's important we time all of this right."

"You have a month to convince Draco that no matter what he thinks will happen to the Hermione of this time, he has to go back to the future. You have a month to find Don and tell him the same. You have a month to come back to the future, vanquish Helena, and then bring Ellen and Paul back." He finally stopped talking and then he said, "Piece of cake, right?"

**Back to Hogwarts:**

Ron was pacing back and forth in the Gryffindor common room. Harry sat in a chair by the door, and the rest of their friends huddled around them. Ron said, "She was going to buy a quill, so I didn't go with her, because I didn't think she was going to be in danger."

"You shouldn't have left her," Ginny said.

"She left me," Ron spat.

"Let's not fight!" Harry stood up and said, "I just wish McGonagall would let us help search for her." He went through the portrait way, with Ron by his side. He turned to Ron and said, "I've looked at the map, and I can't locate her, so she's not on school grounds. It'll be dark soon. She must still be in Hogsmeade, or somewhere between there and the school. I'm going to go find her. I'll use my cloak so no one will see me."

"Let me go, too," Ron said.

"I really think you need to stay here. They might come to you for more questions," Harry explained.

He rushed down the stairs, and stalled when one of the staircases began to move. He waited, and while he waited, he saw Draco Malfoy on another set of stairs, which were also moving. He called over, "Hey, Malfoy, have you heard?"

"I just heard. Blaise Zabini's missing, too," Draco said.

"Is that significant?" Harry asked with ire.

"Yes, it is," Draco answered in clipped tones.

As the stairs both came to a stop, both men walked to the bottom, and Harry asked, "What would you think if I said that I believe you about all this time travel rubbish?"

"I would say 'good', because it's true," Draco retorted.

"I'm going to go look for her," Harry said, pulling out his cloak.

"Well, so am I," Draco said back. Both boys started down the corridor that would lead them to the Main Hall when Harry spotted Hagrid. He pushed Draco into an empty classroom, and shut the door. Before Draco could argue, he heard the conversation in the hall, and he immediately knew how significant it was. Tonight was the night Potter would get the memory from Slughorn.

Harry opened the classroom door and said, "Damn, Hagrid wants me to go with him to help bury Aragog, his stupid pet spider. I told him Hermione was missing, and he told me that I couldn't leave the grounds to look for her anyway, so I should come to the burial."

Draco looked frantic and said, "Trust me Potter, it's more important for you to go to that damn spider funeral. You'll get the memory tonight."

"The memory?" Harry asked, suspiciously.

"If you believe me, then you have to know that I know about how you have to get a memory about Horcruxes from Slughorn, right? Well, it happens tonight, trust me. I should have known it was tonight. You made that Euphoria potion today in potions, and you drank it, so you feel invincible. Perhaps that's why you suddenly believe me. Anyway, Hermione told me all about this, and she wouldn't want you to do anything that might cost you that memory. I'll go find her. I promise."

Harry threw his cloak to him and said, "Don't lose it, you wanker, and make sure you find her." He ran out after Hagrid. Draco slipped the cloak on and walked out after him.

Once he was out of sight of the school, Draco slipped the cloak off and stuffed it in his shirt. He pulled out his wand and started to run toward the village. The sky was already mostly dark, and it was painfully cold. What if she was hurt somewhere? What if she was afraid? What if she died, and they never resolved whatever problem that existed between them?

Draco had almost reached the village when he saw her walking toward him. She was walking along, slowly, as if she didn't have a care in the world. He rushed up to her and said, "Do you know how worried everyone is? Half the teachers are out looking for you. They're ready to call the Aurors. Forget about the threat of Ellen. These are uneasy time with Voldemort and the Death Eaters without that threat. What do you have to say for yourself?"

She stared at him, like it was the first time she had seen him, as he continued to accuse her, and finally she walked up to him slowly. He stopped his barrage and was shocked when she reached up for his face. She stroked his cheek and said, "I've missed you so much."

"You just saw me in class yesterday," he said, confused.

"I'm not talking about seeing you in class, Draco. I've not really seen you since the end of August, until just this past week," she explained.

He looked at her baffled and asked, "What?"

"I'm your wife," she said plainly, tears stinging her eyes. She put her other hand on his other cheek, and while her hands framed his face, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. He placed his arms around her waist, and buried his head in her hair, and even without a proclamation, he knew who she was. "I'm your Hermione. I came back last week, when you and Don came to the forest to meet Nick and Sanguini, and I have a lot to tell you, but first, I just want to look at you, and say that I'm sorry."

A tear ran down her cheek. He continued to stare at her amazed, but suddenly, he smiled and leaned his forehead on hers. "I've missed you, too. Oh Granger, you were upset, because of what happened between your past you and myself, weren't you?"

"And I was right to be upset and jealous," she said, nodding. "However, I don't think I was jealous of the fact that you fell in love with her, but the fact that she fell in love with you. She had you, while I had no one. I've been so lonely for so long." She removed her hands from his face and threw her arms around his neck. He held her tighter than he had ever held anyone, and when his lips descended onto hers, it was the happiest she had felt since the day her daughter was born.

Her knees almost buckled and it was only the strength of his arms that held her upright. The kiss went from urgent and eager to fulfilling and seeking. She melted into his touch, his desire and want, and she gasped for air when he removed his mouth from hers to swing her around in a circle.

They kissed again, and continued to kiss over and over, their lips only separating slightly between kisses to say things like, "I love you," and "I've missed you," and finally, "I'm sorry."

His lips left hers first and he pushed her away slightly and said, "Why have you come? Has something dreadful happened? Oh no, I've failed, haven't I?"

"No, but we desperately need to talk, but let's talk and walk. There's danger out here, and plus, I'm sure everyone's looking for me," she urged. They walked hand in hand toward Hogwarts. She told him everything that the vampire told her before she came, and everything that 'Blaise' told her in Hogsmeade.

He asked questions, which she answered. Finally, when they reached the edge of the school grounds, he asked, "Tell me about our baby."

"She's beautiful, there's no two-ways about it. She has dark curly hair, which vexes your father to no end, and which makes me laugh. She has brown eyes, and she's already very strong willed, and at such a tender age. Your father has been spoiling her, or rather, she's spoiling him."

Draco laughed and said, "I was worried that my father wouldn't, well, love her or something." He became quiet as they stopped walking. She took both his hands.

"Because of her blood status?" Hermione asked.

He nodded.

"I was worried about that too, but I think with you being gone, he sees that life is precarious, and precious, and that everything one holds dear can be wiped away with a blink of the eye, in the space of a second, and he knows that love isn't measured by blood or degrees. Love isn't tangible; it's felt in the heart, and then acknowledge in the head. He loves her very much, and he loves you, too."

"And you?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"Are you asking if I love you, or if he loves me?" she asked for clarification. "Because the truth is that I love you as much as I always did, and he simply tolerates me," she said seriously. Then she shrugged and said, "And that's more than we could hope for, Draco." She hugged him again and said, "So you know what we have to do. You have to pretend that we're still on the outs, just as we've been all week. You pretend to take Pansy into your confidence, so that you can watch her more carefully, and then we need to have someone we trust on the outside try to find Nick and Don Boot. Perhaps its time to get Bill Weasley involved. He would believe us. Nick and Don are looking for Ellen, and we need to let them know we've found her right here under our noses."

"Where is Carina?" Draco asked. "If she's in Ellen's body, could she be in harms way from Don and Nick? Or perhaps Helena?"

"Helena isn't totally aware of anything here. She's what Mark called a shadow in the future, which I believe means she's traveling back and forth through time, on a different plane, one that is of the spirit only, so yes, she may come back here, and Carina might be in danger, but she's our daughter, and we have to trust that she knows what's she's doing. She's the one that discovered the whole plot, and found out what Helena was doing in the first place."

"The Paul Boot thing worries me," Draco admitted, taking her hand and bringing it up to his mouth. "If he isn't in his body now, and he's not Blaise, who is he? Could he be in Seamus?"

Hermione gasped. "I think that might make sense, but that would mean that he's helping Ellen. Blaise, or Mark if you'd rather, said that he originally thought Terry was helping her, because Terry seemed to be next to Hermione, well me, when I was stabbed with the dagger, but I think Terry was trying to stop it."

"The flaming shamrock was right there by your side that day, too, and every other time you've been hurt. Last fall we were cursed on the dock and almost drowned, and he was there. We were locked in the greenhouse with poisonous gas, and he was there, and you were pushed in a closet full of rats, and you said you were talking to him one moment, and pushed in the next, and Terry Boot saved you."

He ticked these things off on his fingers, and she gave him one of her incredulous "Hermione" looks and said, "Have you been protecting me at all this year? Pushed in the Black lake, almost poisoned, bitten by rats, and stabbed with a dagger? What else?"

"You fell into a tree, literally, head first right inside the tree," Draco said with a deadpan expression, and then he flicked her forehead. She hit him hard and he cowered for a moment and said, "Hey, I went into the tree to save you finally, and some of those other things happened to me, too!"

She shook her head and said, "Seriously, it's a good thing I came back."

They walked toward the main doors and once outside of them she said, "I really think we need to be circumspect. We shouldn't tell anyone about this, besides Bill Weasley."

"Oh," he said.

"What?" she harked.

"Potter knows," he blurted. "He's a right bloody bastard, and he badgered me about leaving you alone again, so I finally told him I was from the future and we were married, and hell, I didn't think he would believe me, but he did."

"Draco! You especially can't tell him! There's a link from his mind to Voldemort's!"

"I forgot," he said sheepishly.

"Well, I'll convince him that you were lying, that's all," she said. "I'll go work on him now, and you go work on Pansy, also known as Ellen."

She opened the door and Draco said, "Potter's not in there. Tonight's the night he gets the memory."

"Then we don't have much time. Leave it to me." She turned to walk in the castle, but he pulled her back by her jumper. She turned to look at him, but he was under the invisibility cloak.

He pulled her under with him and kissed her lips once more, smiled at her, and said, "I'm not happy that you had to come rescue me, but I'm glad to see you just the same, and please know that I love you more than anything, and I've missed you every single second of every single day."

* * *

_A/N: Super long chapter. Almost twenty-two hundred words more than the last. Is it wrong of me to want this story to just be over with already? I started it back in September, for goodness sakes, and I'm not done yet. For most people, that's not that bad. But, it's never taken me this long to write a story. However, I feel like we are finally at the 'meat and potatoes' of the story, and it's wrapping up nicely. Six more chapters and we will be done. I figure when this is over, it will be my third longest story written. I've given up posting it on Granger Enchanted, because the last few chapters haven't even gotten any reviews, and only a few hits, so I figure I will finish it, and the post all the rest of the chapters at once over there._

_Next chapter will have some fun, quiet time for Draco and Hermione, and then something bad happens to poor Draco, just like in the book. (Remember what it was?) Thanks everyone!_


	35. Part XXXV

**all characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXV:**

**Silence:**

"And then I got the memory," Harry whispered with pride. Hermione grasped his hand under the table.

"That's great, Harry. What did Dumbledore say?" she asked.

"SILENCE!" Snape bellowed. "Fifty points from Gryffindor, for talking during a lesson." He walked up to the table where Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat, and he stared directly at Harry.

At that moment, the door to the DADA classroom swung open and Draco Malfoy entered. He looked at his favourite teacher, Snape, and said, "Pardon me for being late, Sir. It couldn't be helped."

"Just sit down and don't interrupt my class again," Snape said as he walked back toward the front of the classroom.

Ron, who was on the other side of Harry, leaned toward his friends and said, "Sure, he doesn't dock him points for being late."

Draco sat at the last table, beside Blaise, who was beside Pansy. Blaise asked, "Where were you?"

"I'll tell you later," Draco promised.

Snape continued to give his lecture, and the Golden Trio continued to talk to each other in hushed tones. Finally, Snape turned around, his robes billowing out behind him as he rushed up to their table. He slammed his hand on the smooth, wooden top and said, "Perhaps one of you would like to answer my question?"

Hermione felt Harry pinch her leg under the table, in a silent plea, stating that he didn't know to what Snape was referring. Neither did she, but she was brave enough to say, "I'm sorry, Sir, I wasn't paying attention." She never liked Snape when she was in school, but she did respect him, and it was difficult to see him in the past, alive and well, and to know the pressures that he had upon him. She respected him even more now.

"You didn't hear me?" he asked back.

"No, perhaps you could repeat the question," she urged.

A few people in the class snickered. She looked around and said, "I'm not being disrespectful, Professor. I really didn't hear."

"Ten more points from Gryffindor for cheek," Snape snapped. "Now, the question was, what is the silent incantation needed to shield a nonverbal spell such as the Cruciatus, or the Imperius?"

Hermione frowned a bit and said, "We didn't cover that, did we?" She didn't remember learning this from Snape.

"Please stand!" he said. "You shall show me the incantation, instead of telling me." She looked over at Harry and then stood with her wand in her hand.

"Professor, I'll do it," Harry said.

"Sit, Mr. Potter. I don't remember asking for volunteers, and I know you have a hero complex, but I don't believe Miss Granger needs saving at the moment," Snape said with an almost bored tone. Several of the Slytherins laughed outright. "Mr. Malfoy, please stand."

Draco looked confused but he stood slowly. Blaise stood as well and said, "Sir, your lecture was about Counter Jinxes and how to reverse them, not about silent shield charms."

"Sit, Zabini," Snape said evenly.

Hermione took a deep breath and walked toward the front of the classroom. Harry started to stand, but Ron took his arm and pulled him into his seat. Draco went toward the back of the classroom, with Snape following. Snape said, "Make it look real, Mr. Malfoy. I heard Mr. Potter tell Mr. Weasley before class that you were now friends with Miss Granger. In fact, he seems to think that you're from the future. Do you know how dangerous this information could be? Do you want Voldemort to find out that a spell exists that allows time travel? Do you want him to go to the future? How could you tell Mr. Potter? It's bad enough that you told Miss. Granger! We can't have them suspect anything."

"But, Sir," Draco said in hushed tones, only to be cut off by the teacher.

"Don't hurt her too badly, just enough to show everyone that you still hate her. Especially Mr. Potter."

"Sir, I need to tell you something," Draco said quietly. He looked at the rest of the class, and every eye was upon them. He took the sleeve of the professor's robe and ushered him to the corner of the large classroom. Snape looked at Draco's hand on his sleeve, and with a look that clearly stated, "_Remove your hand or die,"_ Draco let go of his teacher's sleeve, but whispered, "There have been some developments in which you aren't aware. This Hermione is from the future, too. She just arrived last week."

Snape smiled and said, "Then we better hope that she doesn't hurt you too badly." He walked briskly back to the center of the classroom and said, "Everyone, push your tables toward the walls. Miss Granger, when you are ready, you will try to put up a silent shield to Mr. Malfoy's onslaught. Mr. Malfoy, I don't want you to kill her, but an unforgivable may be used if you want."

Harry stood and said, "It's against the law to use unforgivable curses!"

"SIT DOWN!" Snape yelled again. "Since when have you worried about following the law, Potter?" He then looked at Draco and said, "Proceed."

Draco walked toward his wife, and raised his wand. He could not ever inflict one of the unforgivable toward his wife, nor would it be legal for him to do so anyway. Nevertheless, he could level at her several other spells.

He cocked an eyebrow and said, "Ready, Mudblood?"

"Ready, you pompous, white haired, git," she said, suppressing her grin. Draco pointed his wand and sent a silent curse her way.

She deflected it easily.

He turned around, as if to walk away, and then turned back rapidly, pointed his wand just as quick, and to his amazement, he caught her unaware. That had never happened in the history of their time together. His curse sent her flying backwards. He started to rush toward her, but Snape blocked him. Harry and Ron ran to their friend's side. She raised her head and shook it twice. She sat up with Ron's aid.

"Lucky shot, Malfoy," she said. She stood up and limped over to her seat. Snape went back up to the front of the class.

"Perhaps next time you'll listen to a lecture, Miss Granger."

"Perhaps next time you'll give the lecture you want me to listen to," she said back. "And before you say anything else, I know, ten points from Gryffindor." Snape turned back toward the chalkboard, a smile on his face.

Harry leaned over toward Hermione as they sat back down and asked, "What was that? How could he do that to you?"

"We're on the outs apparently. He lied to me about some things, just to get close to you," she lied. "I found it out last night, on the way back from Hogsmeade. He was gloating about how he got you to believe a lie about time travel, and how he used me to get close to you, to hurt you."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron whispered.

"I didn't have a chance to do so. Harry was gone when I got back, and you both left early this morning."

Harry looked over at Malfoy, who was talking to Blaise. "But he said that he was from the future, and that you were married. I believed the bastard."

Ron snickered and Hermione looked at Harry and said, "Listen, I admit I fell for his line, and I had a slight crush on him, in fact, I thought I was falling in love with him, but Harry, he lied to me. He lied to you." She leaned closer, as did Ron, and she said softly, "It was all an elaborate ruse to get close to me, so he could get close to you. He has the Dark Mark. He's a Death Eater." There. That should convince Harry. She hated to do it, but thanks to Snape, and a bit of acting on her part, Harry should now be convinced that Draco was once again their enemy. It was helpful that Pansy was witness to this little display as well.

Harry frowned but didn't say another word. After class, the three friends started to walk to their next class, when Draco yelled across the hall. "I hope I didn't hurt you too badly, Mudblood. Too bad you didn't land on your head. It is the biggest part of you, and probably the hardest."

Harry rushed to Malfoy and before he could say anything to Draco, Draco took the opportunity to taunt him. "You believed me and my little story didn't you Potty. How quaint. Yes, you thought the Mudblood and I were in love." Pansy and Theo laughed. Blaise looked away, as the Slytherins all walked in the other direction.

Harry ran back to Hermione and Ron, with only one thought: the bastard would pay.

**Quiet Time:**

After afternoon classes, Hermione sat by herself up in the Owlery, her robe tightly around her, a book in hand. She had received a note from Draco to meet him here fifteen minutes ago. If he didn't arrive soon, she would leave.

She hated deceiving Harry, but it was important that he not think of Draco as anything but an enemy right now. They also had to convince Pansy/Ellen that the Draco hadn't gotten too close to her. She put her book on the floor as she heard footstep ascend the stone steps.

"Hermione?" She heard in quiet tones.

"Over here," she said from the floor. Draco smiled at her and rushed over to where she sat. He plopped beside her and said, "I can't believe I got the jump on you earlier in the classroom."

"You didn't," she said with a smile. "I kind of let you do that."

"No!" he pouted. "Couldn't you have at least let me think that I got the best of you, just once?"

"I doubt it," she said truthfully. "Did Ellen believe it?"

"I think so. She seemed pleased, anyway. I'm still not one hundred percent sure that Pansy is Ellen, but Blaise, or Mark rather, thinks so, so I guess she is." He took her hand and said, "Truly, I didn't hurt you at all?"

"Did you want to hurt me?" she asked, incredulously.

"A bit, maybe," he said with a laugh. "Snape overheard Potter tell Weasley that I was from the future, so he decided to help us along, and unconvinced him."

"Unconvinced?" Hermione smiled.

"It's a word," he whined. He reached in his robes and pulled out Harry's invisability cloak, which he had borrowed last night. "Here, you'll have to figure out a way to get this back to Potter," he told her. He kissed her hand and said, "Tell me what's been going on since I've been gone. Please."

They talked for almost an hour. Hermione told him more about her pregnancy, her depression, the Raven attack, the attack in Hogsmeade, and about her early labour. She told him about Paul Boot trying to take her away. She ended with telling him about their baby.

"She's so beautiful, Draco. I can't believe how much I love her."

"I bet she is beautiful," he said, "and I love her already, and I don't even know the little thing."

Hermione smiled and put her head on his shoulder. "That's a sweet sentiment."

"You know," Draco began, "that time I was able to communicate with you, in a dream or whatever it was, well it was really special to me. I kept waiting for it to happen again. I mean, it happened slightly after the baby was born, but you only visited me that time to gripe at me for being away."

"I'm sorry. It took a lot of concentration to communicate with you that way, and Nick Boot had to help me, and frankly, it was too painful," she said truthfully. "It hurt to see you, but not really to see you."

They held hands for a while, touching each other lightly, on the face, the neck, the lips, and finally, Draco leaned over and kissed her. She had missed that feeling the most. She pushed him away, her hands on his shoulders, and said, "We really can't. It's too painful, and it can't continue, and someone might see."

"Just one more kiss," he urged.

"No, Draco," she said. She seemed absolute. "Is there any word on Don Boot?"

"No, but Blaise and I talked to Snape and Dumbledore about it after class. Snape feels we shouldn't involve Bill Weasley. He's going to try to find Don. I think that's for the best," Draco explained.

"Fine, but if we don't find him, I want you to promise me that you'll go back by yourself," Hermione chided. "I don't care what Mark's says, if its time for you to leave, and Don isn't back, you have to go back on your own."

"No," he said. "Mark told you that we have to go back together, remember?"

"I know, and I see his reasoning, but I don't want you both to be stuck here. Promise me that you'll come back to the future. I have to go back right before you, and I have to have a clear mind to do the task at hand, which is to find Helena and kill her. I can't worry about you."

"How are you going to get rid of Helena's presence in the future?" he asked.

"I have a lesson with Sanguini this weekend. He's going to teach me some magic that works on spirits and other entities. I hope it works," she said. She held onto his upper arm, and leaned over and kissed his shoulder, on top of his robe. "This has to work."

"I know." He held her hand and examined the palm, tracing the lines on it, and said, "Pansy is planning something else. Mark is convinced of it. We need to see if Seamus is a part of it, but please, be careful, because she's volatile right now, and the last attempt on your life almost really cost you your life."

"I'll be careful," she promised.

**Noise:**

Hermione had a case of the giggles and she couldn't stop. She had been in Don's office with Sanguini for the past hour, he was teaching her how to use her other senses to sense the presences of entities that she couldn't see, and he told her to use her nature psychic ability; that made her laugh.

And she was laughing still.

She told him her views on divination, psychics, seers, and prophecies, and he smiled as she told him how she didn't buy into any of it.

"You're a Muggle-born, who descends from two of the founders, who has had a prophecy told about her, her daughter, her best friend, and another one of your best friends IS a psychic, and yet you claim you don't believe. You of all people don't believe in magic?" Now he laughed.

She hit his arm and said, "I believe in magic! I don't believe in divination and seeing the future."

"You traveled from the _future_," he pointed out. "Listen, you're being a silly little thing, and I shall not humour you on this matter another moment. Let's get back to work." He continued to laugh as he walked up to her and placed a dark cloth across her eyes. He said, "Now, I can turn into a mist. When I am in that form, people can see the mist, but generally, they can't feel it or hear it. That doesn't mean that it can't be done. I'm going to turn into mist, and you try to feel me, okay?"

Hermione said, "Feel you, my arse."

"Okay," he said and he patted her bum. She removed the blindfold quickly and turned to him.

"HEY! That's not what I meant!"

"Put the blindfold back on. I won't touch you again." He made sure she really couldn't see, before he turned into a black floating mist. The mist hovered on the other side of the room, near the ceiling.

At first Hermione felt stupid. Then, she decided to relax. She took two deep breaths and concentrated on what she couldn't see or hear. She tried to 'sense' Sanguini. Finally, she moved slightly, her hands out in front of her, and she turned toward the corner of the room, looked up, and removed her blindfold. He rematerialized in front of her eyes, and floated to the ground.

"Bravo, Mrs. Malfoy!" He clapped his hand. "That's the same principle you will use when trying to locate Helena Boot. You won't be able to see her, but I'm convinced you'll be able to feel her. Did you feel me?" He put his eyebrows up seductively.

"I smelled the horse shite that you emitted," she said with a straight face.

"You wound me, sweet dear. Fine, work on the spell I gave you, and meet me here in two days, and we'll work some more." He opened the door and said, "Now, out of my room. You are annoying me."

She laughed and said, "Coming from perhaps the most annoying person I know."

"I'm not a person," he said steadily.

"Yes you are," she said back.

He smiled a fraction, and said, "That's the nicest thing anyone ever said to me." She smiled back and started out of the room. "By the way," he said before she left, "We are trying to find Don and Nick. Don't worry."

"Do we know where Paul is yet?" she asked.

He shook his head no. She said, "Well, thank you Professor Sanguini, for the extra work." He looked confused, but then he saw students in the hallway. He smiled, and closed his door.

Hermione started down the hallway of the dungeons to head toward the stairs, when she heard a loud noise in one of the basement classrooms. She opened the door slowly, but didn't see anything. She walked into the room, and suddenly, the room went dark. She pulled her wand out of her pocket, but then something, (someone?) knocked it out of her hand. She tried to remain calm and she closed her eyes, although the room was already dark, and she tried to 'sense' what was in the room with her.

She sensed evil.

She backed toward the wall, when she felt lacerating pain in her arms and legs, and a sharp pain in the middle of her chest. It was the Cruciatus curse. She fell to the ground, and screamed.

Draco and Blaise were coming from their dorm. Blaise said, "I think Ellen bought the whole thing between you and Hermione. Where's Hermione now?"

"She's having a private lesson with that vampire," Draco said. "I don't like that man."

"He's not that bad, and he is related to me, you know," Blaise reminded him.

Draco looked confused and then said, "Oh, I keep forgetting that you're really Mark Boot. I'm sorry." They turned the corridor toward the stairs when they heard a girl scream.

And Draco knew, as soon as he heard it, that it was Hermione, because he had heard the same screams from her in the past, and he hoped it wasn't for the same reason!

Both boys took off in a dead run toward the noise.


	36. Part XXXVI

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XVI**

**Pain Remembered**:

Hermione never wanted to feel this type of pain again, yet here she was, in an insurmountable amount of pain, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it but to endure it. Endure it she did, until the spell lifted and the evilness that she felt in the room with her was gone.

Then she was alone.

Blaise and Draco ran into the dark classroom where they heard the screams, to find her on her side, sweating, crying, and rocking back and forth. As much as Hermione had never wanted to feel this much pain again, was as much as her husband had never wanted to witness his wife in this much pain again.

Draco's heart leapt to his throat as he bent over her, turned her to her back, and cupped her cheek. Before Draco could ask her what was wrong, he felt a spell hit him square in the back. He fell overtop of her, even as he heard shouting and footsteps approach.

Blaise shouted for someone to lower his or her wand. Draco barely had time to process the fact that he was lying on top of his wife when he heard Harry Potter and Ron Weasley yelling at both Blaise and Seamus to drop their wands.

"What happened here?" Harry asked, his wand pointed at Blaise, whose wand was still pointed at Seamus.

"He attacked Malfoy," Blaise shouted.

By this time, Draco had rolled off Hermione and Weasley was by her side. He cleared his head and came to his knees. "Why did you do that?" Draco asked the Irish boy.

"These two were using an unforgivable on Hermione!" Seamus said. "I saw them!"

"You saw shite!" Blaise yelled. "We heard her scream, came to investigate, and found her alone on the floor and when Malfoy went to check on her, this poofer hexed him!"

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ron asked. He helped her to stand, but kept his arms around her to keep her upright. The only word he could decipher from her cries was the word, "Crucio".

She was still crying when Harry asked, "Who hexed you?" He didn't lower his wand.

"It wasn't them," she said, pointing toward the Slytherins. "I didn't see who it was, but they didn't run into the room until after the spell was lifted." She was still crying. "It was the Cruciatus curse, Harry."

"Did you hear the person level the spell?" Harry asked, his wand now pointed toward the floor.

Draco stood up, and waited for the answer, too.

"No, but I know it was the Crucio." She couldn't explain to Harry that she knew first hand what the spell felt like, because as far has he knew, she had never experienced it.

"Silent curses, huh, Malfoy?" Seamus goaded. "We all know that you got the best of her in the DADA class, using a silent curse! You knew she couldn't block that type of spell in class, so you knew you could use it again."

"If I was going to use that spell on her, I would have used it when I was given permission to use it by Snape, you wanker," Draco shouted.

Seamus ran up to the man and leveled a blow right for the taller boy's face. Draco dodged it easily, and then he threw back his arm and punched Seamus right in the nose.

Blaise went to Draco's side and held his arm. Sanguini came running in and asked, "What's going on here?" Everyone started shouting at once, but he got the jest of what they were trying to tell him.

"SHUT UP! All of you stupid, little blood donors just shut the hell up!" Sanguini said. "How I hate children," he added. He told Ron to take Seamus to see the nurse. He told Blaise to take Draco as well. Draco started to protest, but Sanguini showed his fangs. Draco looked back at Hermione, who by this time had her face hidden in Harry's chest.

She glanced at him quickly and with a small nod, indicated that he should go.

After they were alone, he turned to Harry and said, "Potter, wait for us out in the hall, and then I want you to escort her to the Mediwitch as well. Don't leave her side until I tell you to do so, do you understand? Don't leave her alone in the Hospital wing until either Snape or me tells you to leave. Don't let Mr. Finnegan or Mr. Malfoy alone with her."

"Yes, sir," Harry said without protest.

Once they were alone, Sanguini showed her to a table. He sat her down on a chair, and then sat next to her. He clasped both of her hands in one of his. He wiped an errant tear from her cheek with his free hand. "What happened?"

"It was like you showed me. I sensed an evil in the room. I knew I wasn't alone, but I swear, Sanguini, there wasn't a person in here. The evil I felt was more like an ominous presence, a heavy weight in the air or something, but not a person. I turned to where I sensed it, and then I dropped to the floor in pain."

"We don't believe Helena can harm you at Hogwarts, due to the fact that she couldn't harm you the year of the excavation of the original castle, because of the old magic of Slytherin. It protects you from her here."

"It wasn't a person," she said. "However, call me crazy, because I don't even believe in psychic ability, but every fiber in my being tells me it was Ellen or Helena."

"Then maybe…no, I won't use conjecture. This is too important. I have a theory, but I don't know why this would be happening. Did you have a chance to block the spell?"

"No, it happened too fast. It was like I knew it was going to happen, but I wasn't fast enough," she said.

"Then that's our next lesson, my sweets." He kissed her hand and said, "Have you ever wondered why I'm really helping you?"

"If your memory is as good as you say, you should recall that I not only wonder that, but I've asked you about a million times. However, I assume it's because of your grandson's connection to my daughter," she reasoned.

"Dear, it's because of you. We will meet in the future, and you will do a great service to me. I only hope it still happens. In any case, you should go to Mr. Potter now, he'll see you upstairs, and I'll come and collect you later. We have somewhere to go tonight. I hope you aren't afraid of the dark."

"Well gee, what could possibly hurt me in the dark, that hasn't hurt me in the light of day?" she asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes.

He laughed and said, "Quite right. By the way, you have a scratch to your forehead, shall I?"

She shrugged, thinking he was going to heal her, not realizing what he was asking. He leaned toward her and licked her forehead. She shuddered, partly in disgust, and said, "A simple healing charm would have sufficed."

**After the Curse:**

When she and Harry arrived at the Hospital wing, Seamus and Ron had already left, and Draco was about to leave, however he stopped when he saw them enter.

"Get out of here, Malfoy," Harry warned. Madam Pomfrey began to examine Hermione.

"Harry, he didn't do it!" Hermione shouted. "Just leave him be."

Harry walked up to Draco and said, "Someday soon." That was the only warning he gave.

Draco leered at Harry and said, "I will always hate you, Potter." He felt that, so he said it. He didn't look at Hermione again; instead, he turned on his heels and walked slowly out the doors.

"Draco, do you suppose it was Ellen who cursed her?" Blaise asked, once they were outside in the hall. "That Irish kid got me thinking. She was in the DADA classroom as Pansy. She would assume the same thing that Seamus did, that Hermione wouldn't be able to perform a shield charm to block a silent curse, because she didn't block yours in the classroom."

"It could have been Seamus," Draco reasoned. "He tried to lay blame, and he was there awfully quick, after it happened."

"So were we," Blaise argued, "Anyway, if we're still working on the theory that Seamus might be Paul, then he wouldn't really hurt Hermione, would he? Doesn't he care for her?"

"Listen, I don't think Seamus is Paul," Draco repeated. He didn't know why he thought that, but he did. "I do think Seamus is the one helping Ellen. I don't know why. You're right though, I don't believe Paul would hurt Hermione, but if he thought it would hurt me to hurt her, he might. I'm confused about that."

Sanguini walked up to the pair, put his hand on Blaise's shoulder and said, "Join the confusion club. Seamus isn't Paul Boot. I'm certain of it. However, I think I do know who hurt Hermione. I'm going to find out tonight. Are you two up for a nighttime jaunt in the woods?"

"Why?" Blaise asked.

"We're going to go hunting for Boots," Sanguini said with a smile. "By the way, you simply have to find out if Ellen is Pansy. No more fooling around. There's no reason this hasn't already been discovered." Sanguini turned toward Blaise and said, "You've been here all year, and have suspected her almost as long, and yet you have no proof. I must say, I'm slightly ashamed to call your blood my own."

"That's out of line!" Draco said, defending the other man.

Blaise put his hand on Draco's shoulder and said, "He has a point." He looked back at his 'grandfather' and said, "However, Granddad, you also know that all I can do is wait and watch. Because of the blue moon spell, I cannot really stop her in any meaningful way. Even if I could kill her, I would be held back by the possibility of killing the girl she inhabits. So tell me, what would you have me do?"

Sanguini leaned against the stone wall and said, "One thing is certain, Hermione must not be left alone. Another thing is that you have to find out if Ellen is in Pansy, and the sooner the better. Use an unforgivable if you have to, but find out." He pushed away from the wall and said, "On another note, we need to find your father and your uncle. We need them here and I have a funny feeling that I know just where they are."

**Boot Brothers Reunited at Last:**

Hermione waited until nightfall to leave Gryffindor tower, as Sanguini instructed. She snuck downstairs, and once by the main doors, she saw Blaise and Draco. She looked to her right, then her left, to make sure no one was around, and then she ran to her husband's arms.

She threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her slightly from the ground, and held her tight. "I am so sorry that happened to you earlier. My stars, Granger, I never wanted you to feel that curse again."

"I never wanted to feel it again, either, but at least it didn't last long," she said, as he placed her feet back on the ground. He tried to smile at her, but it came out almost in vain. It was a shallow, empty smile.

"What do we do now?" Draco asked, looking toward Blaise.

"Wait for Sanguini," he said plainly. As if on cue, the vampire walked toward them from the main staircase. Without a word to the trio, he literally floated past them, turned to a mist, and floated out the door.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, oddly, and then toward Blaise, who rolled his eyes and said, "He's such a show-off." Blaise opened the door and they followed 'the mist' into the forest.

Sanguini led them to an opening of a cave, which Draco and Hermione were well acquainted. It was the Ravenclaw cave. Though Sanguini wasn't a former Ravenclaw (he was once a Slytherin, go figure), while in his 'mist form' he had no problem entering the cave past the bush that guarded the entrance. However, the other three had to wait to be admitted.

A riddle appeared overhead, etched in the stone, for Blaise to read. He read it twice, answered it easily, and the bush moved aside to let him enter. Draco turned to Hermione and said, "Let's enter by the tree instead."

"The tree?"

"Yes, there's a tree that leads to this cave. I know how to get to it. We found it a few months back. I mean, the former you and I found it and it's easier to enter, so let's enter that way," Draco begged.

"But we're already here," she pointed out.

"But the tree isn't far," he said.

"How do we enter the cave from a tree?" she asked.

"Well, we got past it the first time by getting in it, and then we took a few tunnels, and then we were in the Ravenclaw cave," Draco said, with another fake smile.

"Let's just answer the riddles and enter here," she decided. She turned back to look at him and he was frowning. "What's wrong?"

"I won't be able to answer my riddle," he said, frowning.

She wanted to laugh at him, but she didn't. "You're very smart, Malfoy. You answered it a few years ago to enter, remember?"

"After like three tries!" he snapped.

"Fine, let's go to the damn tree." She took his hand, they started along, and she said, "Do we have to climb it to get in it, or what?"

"We have to run at it, full tilt, and smack into it hard, and then we'll end up inside the tree. The first time you only suffered a concussion and a broken arm." She stopped pulling his hand and stared at him hard. He laughed and said, "Or we could just touch a knot hole that Don Boot showed me."

She let go of his hand, turned back toward the entrance of the cave, waited for her riddle, answered it aloud, and walked into the cave, without looking back. Draco grimaced, called his wife an unflattering name, and then walked up to the stupid bush and said, "Fine, you effing, piece of shrubbery, give me your best shot."

Above the entrance, a simple phrase appeared:

"_**What is broken every time it is spoken?"**_

"Shite," Draco said to himself, and then he quickly added, "That's not my answer!" He thought for a moment and then said, "Silence?"

The bush moved aside and Draco expelled a sigh of relief and entered. Hermione and Blaise were waiting for him. "What took you so long?" Hermione asked.

He was going to lie and tell her that his riddle was especially hard, but it wasn't, so he just said, "Can we go, already?"

They all lit their wands and walked through the tunnels of the caves until they were in a larger room, deep inside the cave, where Sanguini was waiting for them. "I was actually growing old waiting for all of you, and you know that I don't even age," he said sarcastically. "I want you to stay up here and observe. There's a large porthole in the rock face where you can look down upon the larger chamber below. Let me enter by the tunnel's opening on my own first. Only come out when and if I tell you to, do you understand?"

He didn't wait for them to agree. He turned back into a mist and floated down into the dark, eerie chamber below. The only light in the larger chamber was from several lanterns sitting around on the floor, which cast ominous shadows along the cave's walls. Draco and Hermione walked over to the portal in the rock, and watched the proceeding below. Blaise sunk down on his belly, and watched through the larger opening near the short tunnel, which was the entrance to the cavern below.

Two men sat on the cold, stone ground, with a third man lying between them. They were in a heated debate. After a few moments, a younger man walked into the area, carrying a large pail with water. He sank down on the ground with the other three, and he took a dipper from the pail, and held it to the mouth of the man on the ground.

The four men were Don, Nick, Terry and Paul Boot. Sanguini floated over them for only a few moments before Nick Boot announced, "We have company." He pointed his wand toward the red mist, which hung on the rock ceiling like a stalagmite.

Sanguini appeared from the mist, and floated down to join the men. He said, "I should have known that a psychic would know that I was here. Tell me Nick, Don; did you really think you could hide from me for long? I may not be a psychic, but my memory serves me well. I knew you would be here, probably before you did."

Don stood up and said, "What are you doing here? Did something happen at the school? Are Hermione and Draco okay?"

"No, they aren't," the vampire said slowly. He continued to walk around the men, his eyes shining strangely bright in the darkness of the cave. Nick and Terry soon stood as well. Paul, who seemed weak or ill, remained on the floor.

"Well!" Don demanded. "What happened to them?"

"Do you care?" he asked. He looked at Paul Boot and said, "I don't know that we've ever met. I'm Sanguini, and you must be Paul. Charmed, I'm sure."

"Sanguini! What's going on up at the school!" Don demanded again, losing patience with the man.

"Nothing much, really," the vampire drawled out, leaning against the wet, jagged, rock. He began to examine his fingernails, as if he was bored. Then he said, "Your sister tortured Hermione earlier, and nearly killed her, that's all."

Don rushed the man and said, "What? Is she hurt?"

"Again, I really must ask the question, do any of you care? While you're all in here having brotherly bonding, poor Mark Boot, Draco Malfoy and myself, are left up at the castle, and we're supposed to watch out for Hermione. Correct me if I'm wrong, gentlemen, but isn't that your job? Wasn't that what you were ordained to do? The heirs of Ravenclaw, made to be the protectors of the other heirs, and all that nonsense?"

Hermione took Draco's hand up in the upper chamber. She thought Sanguini was being rather harsh to the Boots. He had no clue as to the lengths the brothers had gone to protect them in the past. She was about to show herself, but sensing this, Draco put his arm around her waist and his hand over her mouth. Blaise looked up at them from the floor and put his finger over his mouth, to beg them to be silent.

"How did you find us," Nick asked.

"Would you rather I answer Don's question first, about little Hermione's injuries, or would you rather me answer yours?" Sanguini asked. He walked up to his friend and said, "By the way, when did you arrive, Nick? Are all of you from the future now?" He looked at Paul and then at Don. Then he looked at Terry, and with no real maliciousness he said, "Well, you're not, of course."

Don almost hit the vampire, but Nick stood between them and said, "You and your damn perpetual memory. I arrived last night to take the place of my former self. I had to make my brothers aware of some new developments."

"And you?" Sanguini asked, looking down at Paul. "Which Paul are you, I wonder?"

"Paul from the future," Terry answered for him. "I've been hiding him here for a while now. He's hiding from our mother. She found out from Ellen that he came to the past."

Sanguini smiled and then said, "Guess who else came back?" He looked up at the entrance in the upper part of the large chamber and said, "Come on out, Mark."

Everyone looked confused as they looked up to the opening, and saw a tall, black boy stand from his crouching position on the floor.

"That's Blaise Zabini," Terry said plainly.

"No," Sanguini answered. "Well, yes and no. On the outside, he appears to be Blaise Zabini. Everyone, meet my grandson, Mark Boot, Nick Boot's future son."

Nick looked shocked. Don looked furious, and Sanguini added, "The thing is, you have all screwed up enough. Now I'm taking over, with the help of my grandson and his wife.

"His wife?" Nick asked.

"Carina Malfoy," Sanguini answered. A large black panther stood on the other side of the chamber, hidden in the dark, behind a large column. Sanguini pointed a wand at the large cat and then said, "Everyone, this is the animagus form of the future Carina Malfoy Boot. Everyone, meet the reason we are all really here."

Hermione and Draco rushed to the opening behind Blaise, and looked down at the large black panther, as it changed in front of their eyes to a woman.


	37. Part XXXVII

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXVII**:

**The Daughter:**

Hermione hid partly behind her husband, who was peeking out of the opening near the mouth of the large chamber. Blaise stood in front of them, so that no one was yet aware they were there. Suddenly, the black panther before them turned into a woman, who was the spitting imagine of her mother. She was taller, a bit heavier, with her hair a slightly lighter shade, but still curly. Her eyes were more hazel, than brown. She had a splattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

She didn't turn toward her parents, since she wasn't aware they were there. When she spoke, Hermione couldn't help but to gasp.

"Hello, I'm Carina Malfoy."

That one simple phrase caused Draco to turn to his wife and smile.

"How? Why?" Nick said. "You shouldn't be here! You can't be here! No, you must go back."

No one else seemed to be able to speak. Finally, Blaise walked forward and said, "We came back here to right a wrong. A strange anomaly occurred this century that caused the blue moon to happen three times, instead of twice. That's how I was able to come back. "

Don walked up to the beautiful young girl and said, "If you traveled by the magic of the blue moon, how is that you can appear to us as yourself, since you're not alive in this time?"

"Only Mark came back during the blue moon. I came later, using the same Ravenclaw spell that Paul, and now Nick, used. Mark didn't want me to come, and in fact didn't know that I had, until he was already here, but I felt that I had to," she said. Her voice sounded so much like Hermione's voice that Draco wanted to cry at hearing its melodic tone.

"You see," she continued, "Something terrible occurred the first time you all came back. You failed your mission. When I found out from my mother's old journals that my father and Mark's uncle Don traveled to this time by the blue moon, I realized that you had to have failed in whatever you had hoped to accomplished when you came back, because you see, I've grown up without a father. I've never met him. Mark's never met his father's brothers either. None of them."

Suddenly, she seemed desperate. "Don't you see? You all fail. Whatever it is that you hope to accomplish, whatever task you hope to do, you fail. You don't come back!"

Don shook his head and said, "We traveled under the protection of the blue moon specifically so we wouldn't affect the future."

"If you had come back when you were meant to, at the end phase of the moon, which by the way is earlier than you were led to believe seeing that its next week, then you wouldn't have affected it, but you don't come back, so you cease to exist in the future. Everything that happened up until you left still happens…my mother and father meet, fall in love, they get married, she gets pregnant, she even still kills Helena Boot. None of those things change, but the year she was pregnant with me, my father disappeared and never came back. She never explained to me what happened. She talked about him a lot, but she never said what happened. She just said he died before I was born."

By this time, Hermione had turned toward Draco's chest and had begun to weep. Draco was filled with emotions which he couldn't express. His daughter grew up without him. He didn't even know what to think about that.

Sanguini sighed and said, "When Nick of the past got me involved, I was aware of the changes of the past and the future, and I told my grandson and his wife, Carina about it. They came back to set everything right. The thing is that I was then able to see that they don't succeed either."

This must have been news to both Mark and Carina, because they both looked shocked and astounded. Sanguini continued, "That's why I convinced Don and Nick that they needed Hermione of the future to come back. She's the only one that can fix this mess. Nick foresaw it in a prophecy, a long time ago."

"My mother's here?" Carina said. "In the past?"

"More specifically, she's in the upper chamber of the cave, watching us, with your father," Sanguini said. He pointed to the opening above them, and Blaise moved to the side, and started down to the chamber. Hermione and Draco stood in the opening, Hermione still crying, Draco's arms around her.

Carina rushed to them, past her husband. She stood wide-eyed, a short distance from them, staring first at the younger version of her mother, and then at the father she had never met.

"Father?" she said, her voice breaking into sobs. "I've wanted to speak to you so many times, but each time I saw you, it was as a panther, and you were a bit afraid of me." She laughed through her tears. "My father. You're so handsome. And tall." She started to laugh again. "I've seen pictures, but you're so much more EVERYTHING in person." She put her hands in front of her mouth and cried, "My dad. My dad's alive."

She turned to Blaise and threw her arms around his neck. He patted her back.

Draco didn't know what to say. He wanted to apologize for some reason, but instead, he took Hermione's hand and helped her down into the chamber. They stood in front of Blaise and Carina and he said, "Did you know that your mother wanted to name you Hydra?" It was the only thing he could think to say.

Carina laughed and said, "Yuck. She had eight arms." Draco smiled.

Hermione couldn't even look at the young woman. It made her miss her baby even more. It also made her incredibly sad to know that this beautiful girl would grow up without a father. It made her feel guilty. It made her miss Draco, although he stood beside her, holding her hand.

Don finally asked what everyone wanted to ask, "Why do we fail? Do you know?"

Carina stood on the other side of Draco, took his free hand, which surprised him and said, "You fail because there was never a reason for you to come back in the beginning. There was never a threat. Ellen didn't come back. Paul lied to all of you."

All eyes turned to Paul.

**Confessions of Paul Boot:**

"Explain, Paul," Don said with spite. He had suspected this all along, but deep in his soul, he never wanted to believe that his brother would lie about something so important.

Paul remained on the floor, apparently still injured somehow. He looked at Hermione first, but then he turned toward his brother and he sat upright. He said, "Help me up, Terry." Terry bent down to help Paul to stand. He leaned against a large rock. Paul suddenly seemed upset and said, "You want to know why? Because I hate him!" He pointed toward Draco. "I hate him, and all that he has ever stood for, and I feel jealous that he has Hermione and I don't. I can't help it if it's simplistic and petty and below me, it's the truth!"

He turned around to face the cave's inner wall, and said, "I came up with this plan talking to Ellen in prison. She felt remorse for helping our mother. She felt bad for trying to help her kill Hermione and Draco." Paul turned back toward the room. "I didn't understand that. I felt the opposite and I told her so. I know our mother was evil, but so help me, I still loved her. I loved Hermione, but she loved Draco. I blamed Draco for the fact that Terry was killed, because some crazy professor wanted to kill Draco, but Terry got in the way, and he died instead."

"Malfoy grew up getting everything he ever wanted, and I got nothing! My mother died, while his father, who was just as evil as our mother was, lived. He never had brothers, yet sometimes it seemed that my brothers loved him more than they loved me. And so help me, I fell in love with Hermione all those years ago when she came back to school, and I could never express it, because of this stupid curse that Ravenclaw handed down to us! Making us the protectors of the heirs! What shite! Why should I live my life for them? Why can't I have what I want?"

No one knew what to say for a while. Finally, Nick said, "What happened to Ellen? Did she come back?"

"She's still in the future. She'll never wake from the coma I put her under, I'm sure. I wanted her to help me, but she refused, so I placed her in a coma, so she could never betray me," Paul said.

"How did you know that Draco would come back with me?" Don asked. "When you first came to us with the story that Ellen had come back to the past, you and I were to come back to pursue her."

"Yes, well, I knew that he would want to play the hero, didn't I?" Paul said. He looked quickly at Draco, who had one arm protectively around his wife, and one around his daughter.

"Did you know that I wouldn't come back, too? Was that your intent? You wanted to kill me, along with Draco?" Don asked solemnly.

Paul looked torn. "NO! I mean, I don't know. That's why I came back, because I wanted to try to, I don't know, maybe find a way for you to come back without Malfoy, but then I found out the magic didn't work that way. If you both came to the past, you both had to go back. I tried to get Hermione of the future to come away with me, and once I had her safely away from everyone, I was going to make sure you both did come back, but it was already too late. Everything was in motion. And then, our mother found out about everything."

"So Helena knows everything?" Don asked.

"Yes, she is now a real threat, and because of my betrayal, it seems that I am dying. Nasty little piece of ancient magic on Ravenclaw's part, I suppose. I betrayed our birthright. I turned from protector to persecutor, and I'm dying because of it. I'm stuck here, too. I've tried to go back, but I can't. I went to Terry first, and explained it to him. Then I finally went to our mother and explained everything to her. I was desperate. I don't want to die. I thought she could figure out some sort of magic to right things."

"WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?" Draco finally shouted. "She's evil incarnate, much more evil than my father, and you more of less hand the woman who eventually kills her, the woman you claim to love, to her on a fucking, silver platter!"

"I thought if I explained to her how much I loved Hermione, she would help me. I didn't tell her that Hermione kills her someday. I left out that one part. I changed the facts to leave that part out."

Nick finished the sentence, "But she found out anyway, didn't she. She's psychic, Paul. She had the vision about Hermione being the heir of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, and about her and Draco marrying someday, and their child being the saviour of the wizarding world, and about Hermione killing her with the Darian wand, way before it happened you know. She had it this very year! You may have caused it to happen earlier than it should have, but she would have had it anyway. Do you really think she would let these things unfold? Do you think she cares for any of her children enough to be selfless, and let their happiness come before her needs and wants? Paul, what have you done?"

Nick moved over toward Hermione and said, "We have to get you back to the future, now!"

"No, what if Draco and Don can't come back?"

"Then they don't come back, that's the risk they took, but you are coming back with me, and Carina is going back to her time, and then Mark, Don and Draco will try to come back at the end of the blue moon phase, if they can." He turned to Paul and said, "And God have mercy on your soul. I don't know what to do to help you, but I have a feeling you won't be able to come back."

Blaise said, "Father, listen, it's not too late for Paul. We can think of something. Maybe he can't get back by himself, but perhaps he can go back with you, and possibly someone can do something to heal him. Maybe his repentance will save him in the end."

"I not repentant, not really," Paul said weakly. "No, I'll stay here, thank you."

"What's going on with Pansy and Seamus?" Don thought to ask.

"Imperius," Paul said. "Though I'm finding it harder and harder to control them, the weaker I become."

"I brought him to this cave to hide him from our mother," Terry said. "She can't enter for some reason, even though it's a Ravenclaw cave."

Don raised his hand and said, "That's thanks to me, and some of my magic. It's the Gryffindor blood passed down to me from my real mother. I called on it, and set a protection spell on the cave so that she could never enter again. I thought we might need this cave to hide from her. I never imagined she would find everything out, but now I'm glad I did."

"I hate to keep asking questions," Blaise said, "but who attacked Hermione earlier?"

"Was it Pansy or Seamus?" Nick asked. "Paul, did you have one of them attack her?"

"No!" Paul looked upset. "They were never supposed to really hurt her. I made sure of that! They were always just to scare her. I had to make Don and Draco think that Ellen was here, and was trying to hurt her."

"Then someone else is controlling them now," Don answered. "Helena."

**Hours later:**

Several hours passed with everyone talking in the cave. Finally, it was almost dawn. Everyone was in little groups talking. The brothers Boot were in one circle, talking strategy, and some of them trying to come to terms with the actions of others. Nick and Don decided to forgive Paul, and try to figure out a way to help him redeem himself, in hopes of saving his life.

Blaise and Sanguini talked over in another corner. The other circle was Carina, Draco and Hermione, although Hermione sat on the fringe, letting Don and Carina get acquainted, ask questions, and find out about one another.

Carina had so many questions for her father and even her younger mother. Draco felt immense pride for his daughter and the way she had turned out. He only wished he had something to do with it.

"How is your relationship with my father?" he asked her after a while.

She laughed and said, "He's a wonderful grandfather. He was a broken and bitter man for many years after you left, but he later broke from his stupor and he took your place, in many ways. I love him a lot."

"Who walked you down the aisle when you married? My father?" Draco asked.

"No, Harry Potter," she said.

That made Draco almost gag.

Hermione smiled at his reaction, and stood up to walk over to Sanguini and Blaise. She took Sanguini's hand and said, "What service do I provide for you, that won't happen if Draco doesn't return?"

He patted the rock beside him and she sat down. "Draco Malfoy is intended to invent a potion, along with your help, that actually cures Vampirism. If he doesn't come back, I'm cursed forever."

"And you'll live forever," she said lightly.

"That's not how it is supposed to be, though, is it? Believe me; I want to be a man again. I really do," he said lightly.

"You're a wonderful man, in my opinion, just the way you are," she said with a smile. She leaned into his shoulder and yawned. None of them had gotten any sleep. She said, "You know, I think everything might be left up to me, and I'm fine with that, but I might need your help."

"I'm at your service, forever," the vampire said, returning her smile, and showing a bit of his fangs. She laughed and held his hand tighter.

Blaise leaned forward and said, "I was thinking the same thing. The blue moon phase ends on May 5th. That's only a week away. We have to wrap this up in a week. I also think that now that we know my grandmother is aware of everything in this time, we have to take care of her in this time."

"We can't kill her before she's meant to die," Hermione said.

"No, but we can make her forget, or something," Blaise said.

Sanguini shook his head. "No, she's too powerful for a simple remembrance spell, or mind moderation, and Obliviate would never work. I think we need to do something different. I have to think on this."

"So you no longer think that I have to go back first? You don't think she's still a presence in the future?"

"No, I still believe she's an evilness in the future," Sanguini said.

Nick had walked closer to this group and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. He said, "I know she's an evil force in the future. That's why I came back. I was beginning to sense her presences there, and the last time I went to see Ellen's body, I was certain she was there."

"I've been back here for two days. You see, I had a dream, or a premonition, which didn't make sense until I heard Paul's confessions earlier. Don and I were just discussing it. I dreamt that our mother devised a spell of her own, and she's in the future, but not just as a spirit. She's there in the body of Ellen, her daughter, her own flesh and blood, and she's patiently waiting for Hermione to come back. Once you come back to the future, she will set her plan in motion to change the past."

"She'll come back to the past, to the time that Hermione killed her, and she'll change things. She'll get Hermione to get her the wand this time, and with the Darian wand, she'll fulfill her evil plans."

"But, I thought the original prophecy was that I kill her in the past. Why would that change? How would she be able to change that? I'm sure I wouldn't get her the wand."

"You would if she was threatening the life of your future daughter. That's her plan. She's going to wake up in Ellen's body, try to kidnap your baby, and then with a spell of her own, she'll come back to the year you killed her, and threaten you in the past. She'll tell you that she'll kill your baby if you don't get her the wand."

"I still wouldn't do it!" Hermione said, standing up and shouting. Soon, all eyes in the cave were on this foursome. "She would kill me in the past anyway, which means my daughter would never be born!"

"Let me rephrase what I perceive will happen," Nick said wearily. "She'll hold the threat over Carina in the future. You come back, she appears in human form as Ellen, and she threatens your baby. Then, she uses this same spell that you, Paul, Sanguini, and Carina and I have used to travel to this year, and she'll force you and your baby to go back to the year you kill her, retrieve the wand for her, and then she'll have the power she always sought."

Draco rushed to their side and said, "Who is protecting the baby now?"

"Your father," Hermione said.

"Don't underestimate her," Don said. "We always have, and look at all it has cost us. I agree with Sanguini. We need to do something in this time to stop her. I just don't know what that is yet, and we only have a week to figure it out."

Draco said, "First things first," and he turned to Carina. "You go back now. You don't need to be here. Go back to your time!" He turned to Nick and said, "You go back to our time. Protect my daughter. Tell Harry Potter and my father everything. Kill the body of Ellen if you have to, but protect my baby."

Then he took Hermione's hand and said, "The rest of us will figure out how to stop Helena. Then, Don, Mark and I will go back next week. Hermione will go back at the same time. Maybe even Paul will get to go back, if he decides to help us."

"I'll help, if you trust me," Paul said, "And if I'm able. I grow weaker everyday."

Hermione nodded and said, "Draco's right. That's what everyone has to do." For the first time she spoke to her future daughter. She turned to the woman and said, "Please, go back to your time. Please. All of this was set in motion to protect you, so help us to protect you. Go back. You did a wonderful job in letting us see the folly of our ways, and so you did what you intended. Go back. I can't live if you don't live."

Carina started to cry and she hugged her mother. "I'll go back. I promise. I'll go back now." She turned to Draco and said, "But if my life isn't completely altered in another week, I'll be seriously upset with you."

"You are so much like your mother it's scary," he said. "But if we succeed, you won't even be aware that you grew up without a father. You might wish that you had, but you will not have had to do so. Go back Carina, but first," he hugged her, "Let me tell you how proud I am of you, too. I love you, I really do. I don't even really know you, but I'm glad I got to meet you."

Nick and Carina told everyone else goodbye, and then they went back to their different times. Paul and Terry decided to stay in the cave, under the protection spell set up by Don. Don and Sanguini, along with Blaise, went back to the castle with Draco and Hermione.

They had just reached the grounds of the castle, when Draco turned to Hermione and said, "We really don't have much time. Do you think we can figure this out? I want to make sure I get back before the Death Eaters come to the castle. I don't want to relive Dumbledore's death again."

"Since you will go back before that, you won't have to. I however, am not going back until this is finished, agreed?" she said. "I'm not on a time frame. I can go back whenever I wish."

"I can't agree to that. I can't go back without you," Draco decided.

"Then you're feeding right into Helena's hand. You're doing what Paul wanted. If you don't go back, you'll never go back. Carina will still grow up without you. Do you want that to happen? I won't have that, Draco Malfoy!"

"You're so bossy," he said with a laugh.

They had just reached the castle when Don said, "I have to go report to Snape and McGonagall, and let them know what's happening. Don't let anyone catch you two together, okay?"

Hermione and Draco nodded. Draco took her hand and said, "I hope everything works out, I really do."

"Me too. I need to get to some books in the restricted section. Perhaps I can figure out what spell I can use on Helena, to alter the future, to send her back to the past, from the past. I don't know if it can be done, but I don't have much time. It's already April 30th."

"April 30th?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Draco. Why?"

He didn't know how to tell her, but May 2nd was the date that Potter almost killed him in the bathroom during their first sixth year, with the Sectrumsempra spell. Draco tried to smile and he said, "Oh, it's nothing, it's just that there's a big Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor the day after tomorrow."

"Draco, there's more to worry about than Quidditch," Hermione chastised.

"Yes, little one, I suppose you're right." He leaned forward, pulled her into a tight embrace and repeat, "I suppose you're right."

* * *

_A/N: Can you believe this is finally almost finished? I wrote chapter 38 tonight, but still need to send it to my beta. When I was done, it was almost 8000 words, when these chapters are usually betweeen 3500 and four thousand, and I don't want to break it down, nor do I want to go beyond 40 chapters, but I might have to do 41, or an epilogue. I have some flashbacks in the next chapter, explaining about Helena Boot, from Familiar Place II, that I might take out. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me everyone, and for following this. "A Date by Proxy" just reached over one thousand reviews, and is as of now, my tenth most read story with almost 90,000 hits, and it's only been around for three months, and the thing is that I have worked so much harder on this story, and for so much longer, (since September, for crying out loud) so it's nice that some of you are following it and reviewing. My goal was for this to get at least three hundred reviews and 30,000 hits, so I think I'll make it._


	38. Part XXXVIII

**All Characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXVIII:**

**A Quidditch Match and Spells for Enemies:**

May came upon them, warm and balmy, and Hermione loved that she could spend a few hours outside. What she didn't love was that they were running out of time. She had spent two whole days in the restricted section of the Library, thanks to a note from Don Boot, looking for a spell to use against Helena.

Nick had determined that his mother was somehow floating between time and space, much like Voldemort when he was without a corporeal body. When she inhabited the future, she was more of a spirit, an entity, than a person. This made the future into the better place for Hermione to fight her. However, it would be safer if Hermione could fight her in the future, but from the past, and so far, Hermione couldn't find a way that such a feat could be accomplished.

It was also determined that the future Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy had to try to draw Helena's spirit to a place that was common to both periods. Therefore, a ruse was planned to pretend that Hermione and her baby were going back home to their house in Hogsmeade. They had this scheduled for the day before Don and Draco were to return. Everything had to be planned down to the second. The hope was that Helena's spirit would try to force Hermione and the baby back to the past with her, if she thought they were alone and vulnerable. To do so, they needed Paul Boot's help. He would be the one to inform his mother of the bogus information.

Draco didn't want to trust Paul Boot, but they had no choice. He was the one that would relay the information that Hermione had come back to the future, since they felt the danger in the future had lifted. He would tell his mother the date and time that they were to go home, and if the pieces fell perfectly in place, Hermione would strike.

Nick Boot felt that Hermione needed the Darian wand to vanquish his mother's spirit back to the past and to oblivate her memory of the events of this year. That meant that Hermione had to go back to the Slytherin cave, retrieve the wand, and do all of this without anyone's knowledge. She would then have to return the wand to the cave, and after that, she could go back to the future. It would not be easy. They all decided the best time for her to retrieve the wand would be during the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor final Quidditch match, which was that very afternoon.

Hermione was sitting outside under a large tree, with books on time travel and different dimensions that Professor Dumbledore had given her. She was feverishly writing on a piece of parchment when Draco walked toward her. First, he looked around to make sure no one saw him, and then he said, "Hello, little one."

She smiled before she looked up. "Hello, my love," she said with a smile. "You really shouldn't risk being seen with me."

"Are you ready to go to the cave today, to get the Darian wand?" he asked.

"Yes, and I know you're worried, but Sanguini and Don will be with me. Remember, you can't go," she said.

"I know. I have other things to do today." 'Like being slashed almost to death by Potter in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom' he thought. He wanted to say that aloud, but he didn't. "I realize I can't risk being seen with you, but I'm afraid. What if Helena anticipates all of this? She is a gifted seer. She might know that you're going to the cave today. After what happened at that cave the first time, I'm worried for you. Also, if she gets that wand, her power will be greater than the Dark Lord's powers."

"She won't. Before he left to go to the future, Nick said that when Helena's consciousness is in the future, so she's not aware of the past. Thanks to our little lie, she's roaming around our house in Hogsmeade as we speak, waiting for me to return home from your parents' house with the baby."

"If Paul played fair and told his mother what we wanted him to, you mean. I don't trust that son of a bitch," Draco glowered.

"Neither do I, but we have a safety net. Terry went with Paul to talk with their mother in this time, and Don put Paul under the Imperious, just in case. Its fine," she said, adding, "Please don't worry."

"I hope Paul is so ill that he can't come back. I hope he dies in this time," Draco said honestly.

"Draco, that's a horrible thing to say. He's been misguided, and has made mistakes, but who hasn't. Look at the mistakes you've made, and then think twice about judging someone else," she said.

"Well, ouch, Granger!" Draco almost shouted.

"I just mean that you had a hand in certain things this year, and you regretted them and you were forgiven and given a second chance," she pointed out.

"I was forced to try to kill Dumbledore! The Dark Lord was going to kill my family, Hermione! No one forced Paul to make up lies and disrupt all of our lives, and try to kill us! What do you know about anything?" he shouted.

She stood up and threw down her quill. "What do I know? I know a lot, Malfoy! I know you've never really talked about this year much, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't listen and be sympathetic, and I certainly wouldn't judge."

"The hell you wouldn't judge me! You wouldn't have brought it up if you weren't judging me!" he shouted.

Harry and Ron, along with most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, were marching across the lawn toward the pitch, when Harry spied Hermione and Draco apparently fighting.

"Malfoy, all I'm saying is that people do things that are wrong, for wrong reasons or right reasons, and that doesn't mean that we have any right to wish them harm. I was not judging you, I promise."

"You think you're holier than thou, and it makes me so angry! You don't even need me here, do you? Once again, you swoop down and save the day! You probably want to tell me off for coming back by the blue moon so badly that you have to bite your tongue! You probably wish that I had just left well enough alone. You've acted angry and distant from me since you came to this time! I don't doubt if you wish that I would be stuck here, and then you wouldn't have to keep saving me all the time!"

"What? Is that what you think?" she yelled back.

Harry started to run toward them, Ron and the rest of the team behind him. Hermione saw them and said, "Great, Harry's watching us fight and now he's coming this way."

"That's a perfect cover for us, right?" he spat. "Here, let me help with the lie, Granger." Suddenly, he shouted, "You stupid, filthy, dirty, little Mudblood!" The last line was for Harry's benefit but the next was for his own. "I just wish for once you didn't think you were better than the rest of us! I just wish for once you would come out of your ivory tower, and be honest with yourself, Granger! You think you're better than everyone else, and pity the fools who think differently than you. Well, I'm sorry, but I hope the bastard dies!"

"What's going on?" Harry shouted, running between them. He turned to Malfoy and said, "Who do you hope dies?"

"You, you self-righteous prick," Draco said. He turned back to Hermione and said, "Mark my words, little one; if anything threatened the ones you love, you'd feel the same as me!"

Ron shouted, "Are you threatening her?"

"Heaven help anyone who threatens the great Hermione Granger!" Draco said. He turned around and stormed back into the castle, angry that he had left things like they were. Angry that she had to go to the cave to get the wand the last time, considering the horrors that happened to her the first time she was in the cave. Angry that he couldn't protect her, and that she had to be the one, once again, to protect him, and angry that in a few hours time, he would have to relive one of the worst moment of his life.

Hermione walked up to Harry and said soothingly, "He wasn't threatening me, Harry." She patted his arm to placate him.

"It looked as if he was," Harry argued. "I heard him, Hermione. Who was he referring to when he said that he wanted someone to die?"

Hermione felt panicked. She wasn't aware Harry had heard that. She said, "I'm sure I don't know, but don't you have the Quidditch finals? You have to beat Ravenclaw, Harry." She tried to smile. "Go on to your game. I have to meet with Professors Boot and Sanguini anyway. We're going to the forest to collect some rare plants for a potion assignment." She leaned down, gathered all of her books and things and said, "I really have to go, or I'll be late. Bye! Good luck with the game!"

Harry told his team to go on without him. He would be there shortly. He had to check on Malfoy first.

* * *

_**Flashback to A Familiar Place II: The Darian Cave:**_

_Hermione tried to remember the way to the cave. She had never even been to the cave. She had no idea where to continue from there. She felt like crying and screaming in frustration. She said, "If only Draco was here! He would know where the cave is! Salazar, you stupid fool! Just tell me how to find the cave!"_

_She heard a laugh behind her and turned around. There, behind her, standing on the path in the forest, was Helena Boot. Helena drew Hermione's lit wand to her free hand, and put it in her robe. She said, "The cave? Is that where the old fool hid the wand of my ancestors? How simple. I should have known. I knew about the cave, and the Horcrux. I knew that was where he killed the eldest brother, but never in my wildest dreams did I think he would be stupid enough to hide the wand there, or perhaps, it was not stupidity, perhaps it was ingenious after all, for I know I would never have thought to look there. Well, Miss Granger, let's go to the cave."_

_Hermione glared at Helen and said, "I don't think we will go there. For one thing, I don't even know where the cave is, and for another, you can't make me, because you can't hurt me, not here on the grounds of Hogwarts."_

"_Yes, yes," Helen said, with a frown, "another one of Slytherin's little safeguards. I cannot hurt you on the grounds of Hogwarts; however, I can hurt someone you love. Mr. Malfoy, would you mind coming out from your hiding place, and showing us how to get to the cave?"_

_Draco came walking up the path from behind a tree. His hands bound and a gag over his mouth. He looked battered. He was bruised, and bleeding. Hermione started to rush toward him, but stopped as well. Helen looked angry and said, "Must you force me to continue to use the Crucio on you, Mr. Malfoy. I will, I will hurt you again, if you do not come to me, and show me how to get the cave!" With her wand, she removed his shackles and gag._

_Hermione shouted, "Draco, please, do as she says!"_

_He said, "No, Hermione. I won't do as she says." _

_Helena pointed her wand at Draco and he dropped to the ground, withering in pain. He cried out. Hermione screamed, "Stop it! Don't hurt him! Draco, take us to that cave!"_

_Helena stopped the curse, walked up to Draco on the ground, and put her foot on his face. She looked down and said, "You heard your little Mudblood whore, take us to the cave."_

"_Kill me. I'll never show you the way to the cave," Draco said, in a ragged voice._

_Helena sighed and said, "Mr. Malfoy, do you really think you will take all the pain for her. Even though I cannot personally hurt her that does not mean I cannot get others to hurt her. I have used my stepson Don all these months to inflict pain on her and neither was the wiser. Just show us the way to the cave, or you both die." She raised her wand and cursed him again. This time, he cried out in pain for many long minutes. Hermione screamed as well._

"_PLEASE! Stop it! Don't hurt him any longer!" Hermione shouted. Helena released the curse and Hermione ran up to Draco. He was close to unconsciousness, and he was barely breathing. Hermione put her hand to his face and wiped his tears. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Please, Draco, tell me how to get to the cave." She leaned down once more and whispered in his ear, "I'll kill her once I get to the cave, just tell me how to get there." Hermione sat back up and her tears were gracefully falling down her cheeks. Draco looked up in her eyes._

"_Hermione, she'll kill you. Let me die for you," Draco said._

"_I can't!" Hermione cried. Helen used her wand and hexed Draco once more. Hermione threw her body over his, as he moaned and screamed in pain._

"_STOP IT! STOP IT! We can find the cave without him!" she yelled at the older woman._

_Draco lay on the ground, breathing hard. Hermione remained at his side stroking Draco's hair. Helena smiled. She said, "Mr. Malfoy, would you really die for your one true love?"_

"_Don't answer," Hermione said._

"_I'll answer. Yes, I will," Draco said, struggling to sit._

"_Thank you. I know what I must do," Helena said. She took two steps back and pointed her wand at Draco. Hermione put her body in front of his. Helena moved Hermione aside with a flick of her wand. She said, "How noble, Hermione, you're willing to die for him as well, and I think that's what I'll let you do."_

_Helena said, "You see, Draco, it was so easy to make you hurt Hermione before, all those months ago, that I think I will do it again. You say you are willing to die for her, but are you willing to kill her?"_

_Helena pointed her wand at Draco and shouted, "Imperio!"_

_Draco stood from his spot on the ground and rushed toward Hermione. He took her narrow neck in his hands and squeezed. Her eyes watered, as her hands went to his. She was soon on her knees before him, eyes watering, coughing, and unable to breath. Helena released the spell long enough for Draco to be aware of what he was doing. He tried to run away, so he would no longer hurt her, but Helena cursed him again, and as Hermione lay on the ground, clutching her neck, Draco stepped up to her, lifted her, and threw her against a tree. He then went up to her, and slapped her face, not once, not twice, but three times. _

"_STOP!" Hermione screamed. "Please, Draco, fight this!" Hermione was crying on the ground. She reached for his face. _

"_Are you going to persuade your lover not to kill you? Is your love strong enough to make the Imperio curse impermeable?" Helena asked. With a small motion of her wand, she made Draco grab Hermione by the hair, and stand her up. He gripped her shoulders and shook her hard, and then he threw her once more to the ground. He kicked her hard in the ribs. Helena released the spell._

_Draco, realizing what he had done, yelled, "Stop it you stupid bitch! I'll take you to the cave!" He tried to bend down to Hermione, but she was afraid, and she cowered behind a tree. "Hermione!" Draco yelled. Helena smiled._

"_Very well, Mr. Malfoy, let's go to the cave. Pick up your little Mudblood fiancée, for we might need her when we get there," Helena said. _

_Draco bent down, and picked up Hermione's crying, battered, form. He cradled her in his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She whispered, "Are you okay?"_

"_Hermione," Draco cried, "I beat the hell out of you, and you want to know if I'm okay?"_

_Hermione was silently weeping, her tears staining Draco's shirt. He hated himself. He had never wanted to hurt her again. He hated Helena Boot even more. He tried to be as gentle and careful with Hermione as he could. He wished he could talk to her, tell her everything was going to be okay, but he truly didn't think they would._

_Helena walked behind them, holding an ancient box under her arm. Draco and Hermione reached the mouth of the cave, when Helena said, "Stop walking, Mr. Malfoy."_

_He stopped, with Hermione still in his arms._

"_We won't need you any longer, so you can put Miss Granger down now, and she and I will go alone into the cave," Helena said._

_Draco slid Hermione out of his arms and she winced in pain. She could hardly stand on her own. Helena pointed her wand at Draco, and rope came out of nowhere, binding his hands to a nearby, low-lying, pine tree. _

"_Let's go find that wand, Miss Granger. The faster I find the wand, the sooner you'll be out of your misery." She had her wand in Hermione's back. She turned to Draco and said, "After we find the wand, I'll return for you, and you will have the pleasure of killing your lover. Won't that be very special for you, Draco dear?" Helena actually smiled, and Draco watched as Hermione and Helena left to enter the cave. _

_Helena and Hermione had reached a large chamber in the middle of the cave. Helena had lit torches, starting at the mouth of the cave, going all the way down to this larger chamber. Light flickered around the large internal room. Helena said, "Do you know where to find this wand?"_

_The fact was she did not. Helena put the wooden box down on the cave floor and said, "Perhaps there is a clue in the writings on the scroll. Open the box, Miss Granger, and find out."_

_Hermione did as requested, mainly because she did not know what else to do. With Helena's wand still pointed at her, she opened the box and removed the scroll. Helena leaned over Hermione's shoulder and said, "I've never seen these runes before."_

"_They were written by Salazar," Hermione began, "and I believe they are in parseltongue." She did not know why she felt that, but she did. _

"_Then translate, little Slytherin," Helena mocked._

"_I can't. I don't know parseltongue," Hermione admitted._

_For the first time, Hermione saw a grimace grace the beautiful features of Helena Boot. She also raised her voice for the first time. She screamed, "YOU LIE! HIS HEIRS ALL SPEAK IT! TRANSLATE THE RUNES!" _

_Helena calmed immediately and said, "I have all your friends and family, Miss Granger, so I feel it is unwise to lie to me." Helena was now completely composed. "I will kill each and everyone one of them, saving your mother for last, if you don't at least try, my dear," Helena said, smiling._

Hermione walked up to the scrolls. Tears streaked her face as she looked at the runes. They truly did not make sense to her.

_However, she heard a whisper in her ear, 'the wand is hidden in the front of the cave, in the wall. Touch the wall to the right of the entrance, saying this incantation: __**from the wall release the wand, so it may live to kill another.**__ Do not worry, young Granger, for I will be with thee. She cannot touch the wand, not as long as you live. If she kills you, then she can use the power of this wand, and her power will be beyond all others. As soon as the wall releases the wand, take it and kill her. You need not point the wand at her. Just think the thoughts. No words need to be spoken."_

_Hermione knew Slytherin spoke these words to her. She rolled the scroll back up and said, "It says the wand is hidden in the wall to the right of the entrance to the cave. It says that only I can release the wand from its hiding place."_

"_Then let us go." She followed Hermione back to the entrance of the cave. Helena had a torch in her hand. She put the torch in a metal bracket that was by the entrance. She said, "Get me my wand!"_

_Hermione silently said the incantation that Salazar revealed to her. Suddenly, as if the wall was made of water instead of stone, the wand appeared, although it was still hidden from Helena, for she looked at Hermione and said, "Well, where is the wand?"_

_Perhaps Helena could not see the wand. Hermione ran her hands once more over the smooth glassy surface, and without warning, the wand appeared in her hands._

_Helena jumped back in shock and surprise as Hermione quickly turned to the witch, wand in hand. She tried to curse the older witch with the wand, yelling, "Stupefy!" but nothing happened._

"_Silly little girl, you can't wield the power in that wand. Hand it to me. I promise not to kill any of your loved ones," Helena said, her right hand outstretched toward the wand, her left hand pointing her own wand at Hermione. Hermione kept the wand tight in her hand._

"_Do not give her the wand," she heard the same voice from before whisper._

_Hermione yelled, "NO!"_

_Helena said a spell so that wand would leave Hermione's hand, and come to her own, but nothing happened. The older woman moved her own wand to her right hand, and began to circle Hermione. Soon, she was standing at the mouth of the cave._

"_Give me the wand, or watch your family die," Helena said._

_Hermione heard a voice in her ear, "The people in the cavern are merely illusions. That is why she entered before you, to prepare the fantasy. No one is really down there, for no one but you, your betrothed, and this woman can enter the cave. She lies to you. Do not relinquish the wand."_

"_You lie!" Hermione yelled. "No one is in that room!"_

_Helena laughed and her hair flew all around her. The room shook as if there were an earthquake. Hermione stepped back until she felt the smooth surface of the wall behind her back. "You think you are so smart! Try to curse me with that wand, again, little Slytherin. I am not lying when I say that only I can wield its power. Go on, try!"_

"_STUPEFY!" Hermione yelled again. Nothing happened. Helena laughed again. The cave again shook. _

_She pointed her wand at Hermione and said a curse in which Hermione had never heard before. It felt as if shards of glass were cutting her skin. She began to bleed all over her body. She sunk to her knees, crying in pain. _

_The voice of the man, whom Hermione assumed was Salazar, said, "Stand up, child. The pain will pass. You are stronger than she is. You do not need the wand to perform magic. Wandless magic is how you will prevail. Stand up and face her."_

_Hermione stood up and raised her bloodied hand toward the woman. She moved her fingers slightly and Helena was thrown outside the cave, landing in the grass by the opening. She stood up and shouted, "Wandless magic? You think you can beat me with wandless magic?" Helena pointed her wand once more at Hermione, and as the curse left her lips, Hermione also said a spell, silently, holding her hand, palm side up, facing the woman, to deflect the other woman's spell. The curse rebounded from Hermione and hit Helena square in the chest, knocking her over once more. Hermione walked out of the cave, toward the woman, who was now several meters from the opening. _

_Helena struggled to stand again, and with fury and anger she screamed, and raised her wand once more toward Hermione. Instead of hitting Hermione with another spell, Hermione once again raised her hand, the one without the wand, which caused Helena to fly several more meters in the air, landing against a tree._

_She lay on the ground, gasping for breath. She looked up at Hermione, her eyes black. She stood up, and actually rushed up to Hermione, to try to remove the wand physically from her grasp. As soon as she touched the wand, her hands burned and she was thrown back against the ground. The force knocked Hermione down as well._

_Hermione struggled to stand again, as the older witch raised her wand and started to utter the death curse. However, before a single word left Helena's mouth, Draco came out of his hiding place, directly inside the mouth of the cave. As Helena stood at the mouth of the cave, he took the torch from inside on the wall, and threw it toward the older woman. Her long silk robes caught fire, and she began to scream. In the agony and pain of being burned alive, she still tried to curse Hermione. _

_The older woman continued to scream in anguish, dying from burns and fire. Draco looked over at Helena Boot's charred and blackened body, as it lay right outside the cave. Smoke and flames began to fill the cave, as the flames still engulfed her. _

_Hermione took the Darin wand, and spoke the death curse to Helena. Draco then took the wand from Hermione's hand and threw the wand on the flames. A stream of purplish black smoke rose from the center of the burning remains. He picked Hermione up and carried her back in the cave. Her eyes closed once more. He said, "It will be okay. I have you." He said it more for himself then for her._

* * *

**Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's to the Cave we go:**

Hermione walked ahead of Don and Sanguini. The sun was high in the sky, and sweat was beginning to pour off her, but still she kept her pace brisk.

"Slow down, Hermione, I'm old," Don said.

She turned to face him and said, "First, you're not old. Second, you are in your younger body, so that's a baseless argument. You're fine, so let's go, old man."

Don looked at Sanguini and shrugged.

"Why are you going so fast?" Sanguini asked her.

"The sooner I get the stupid wand, the sooner I get back to Draco. I have to talk to him. We had a big fight, and I have to make it right," she said, her back to the other men as they walked along the path.

"Today's a hard day for him," Don replied.

"Oh yes, it's hard to sit around and watch a Quidditch match," she said sarcastically. Don looked shocked and she continued, "I know, I know, he's worried about me and considering what happened to us the last time we were at the Slytherin cave, it's understandable, but still, he was being a spoiled brat earlier. He only thinks of how things affect him."

"Hermione, today's the day that Harry will use the Sectumsempra spell on him. I'm sure he's worried about that, as it was very painful and traumatic the first time around," Don said with worry in his voice.

She spun around quickly and said, "I didn't know!" She rushed to Don and grabbed the front of his robes. "I swear, I didn't know. He's never really talked to me about it, and I never really knew the exact date of it. Oh, what have I done! I made him feel terrible. He must be afraid." She started to run back the way they had come, but Sanguini caught up with her easily.

"No, Hermione, we have to keep going. You have to get the wand, because we don't have much time. In a matter of days, the blue moon's second phase will end, and Don and Draco have to go back, and we have to vanquish Helena back to her time, and we don't even know how to do it yet."

"But Draco!"

"I know," Sanguini assured her, "but you can't stop it anyway. That would change too many things. The past has to be allowed to unfold the way it is meant to unfold. Your husband survived it the first time and he will survive this time. Let him do this for you."

Hermione had never thought of it that way before. She took Sanguini's hand in her, and said, "Hurry up. We have to get that wand."

When they were almost to the hillside that would lead them to the cave, Hermione said, "Don, I've been thinking a lot of about how to get rid of Helena, and I think I've come up with a plan. One of the books Dumbledore gave me, about time traveling on different dimensions, gave me the idea."

He stopped walking, placed his hand on her shoulder, and said, "What is it."

"Remember a few years ago, when Nick charmed the Slytherin locket with that spell so that I could remember Helga's memories, and you mentioned that using such a spell on an old, powerful object, was dangerous, especially as the locket could be used as a portal to different dimensions. Remember? Nick said it could be used to transport someone's consciousness to different dimensions, and on a different plane than their body, thus the reason I could look back at Helga's memories."

"Okay, go on," he urged, paying special attention.

"Well, what if Helena and I meet that way. What if I use the Slytherin locket, and she uses the Ravenclaw one. We could have Paul give it to her," she said. "He could tell her it's the way to get to me. We wouldn't even have to be in the same time. We would fight in our minds."

"Two problems are evident in this scheme," he stated. "One, we don't have the lockets in this time. They're locked up in the vaults in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, and that's not somewhere I think we can easily roam around right now, with Voldemort there and all. Second, we can't retrieve them from the future and bring them back here, because they were both destroyed in the future."

"I thought you just took it from me to keep it safe," she said. "You destroyed it?"

"No, Draco did. He was afraid you would use it again. Remember what I told you, sometimes people would use that spell, and the events that occur in their memories and minds might be so traumatic that they can't return to consciousness. He was afraid that you would try to use it again sometime, and that would happen to you, so he destroyed them."

Sanguini walked up to the pair and said, "I agree, but with Hermione. I think the lockets would work. They would link Hermione and Helena's minds, on a different plane. There must be a way to get them from the Manor."

"Maybe Draco could get them," Don said, more to himself than the others. "I have to talk to Draco about this, but it's all we have at the moment, so it's the only chance we have. Do you remember the incantation to use with the locket?" Don asked.

"Yes," Hermione answered. "Dolcet Rosmarinus."

Don said, "Let's climb this hill, get that bloody wand, and then get those stupid lockets, and finally end this thing! I want to go home."

**Sectumsempra:**

Draco was beside himself with anger and worry. He rushed back into the school after his fight with Granger, and started to roam the halls. His thoughts went to what happened to Hermione the first time she went to that cave, he was powerless to help her that time, he was powerless again this time, and she didn't even seem as if she cared! She wasn't worried about the fact that she had to do it without him! She didn't care that she had to come back this year, swoop down, and save the day once again. Moreover, she wouldn't even validate his feelings on the matter! She didn't care how he felt, that was certain!

He roamed into the fifth floor boy's bathroom, without forethought, or cognitive consideration at all. Perhaps it was preordained that he would come back into this bathroom, at this time, on this day. It was fate. Only the circumstances were different this time. His surge of emotion and regret had nothing to do with his part in the upcoming murder of their headmaster, and everything to do with his relationship with his wife, and what he viewed as his failure as a husband.

He paced in front of the sinks, the tidal wave of emotions about to surge out of him, just as surely as an eruption out of a volcano.

"No one understands!" he shouted. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and said, "You are a coward! You are a fucking failure!"

Moaning Myrtle came out of her u-bend and floated above him. "Oh, you're that sensitive boy you came here the other time. What's wrong?"

"I'm a failure!" he shouted, slamming both clenched fists on top of one of the sinks. "She doesn't understand! She thinks my feelings don't matter. She doesn't even need me! She thinks everything for me was easy this year, but it wasn't! It was hard!"

"Who thinks this?" Myrtle asked.

"Hermione!" he shouted. "She hasn't once asked me what happened this year! I shouldn't have to bring it up! She should show concern and ask me about it occasionally. Does she think that I wanted to take part in the Headmaster's demise? No, she only thinks it's wrong that I want Paul Boot to die! Well, I won't apologize for that," Draco shouted. He continued to pace. He kicked a rubbish receptacle.

Hermione ran back into the building. They had found the wand easily, she had recalled the incantation to release it from the cave's wall, and she now had the wand safely in her bag. Don instructed her to hide it somewhere safe, which she would, but first, she had to get to the fifth floor boy's bathroom.

Harry took the marauder's map out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand. "Show me Malfoy." The map showed that he was in the boy's bathroom, on the fifth floor. Harry folded the map and took a shortcut to the fifth floor. He reached the bathroom, and paused outside the door to listen.

"I didn't want to help them kill him, but I couldn't stop them! What could I do? I was a kid! They threatened my entire family. Now, in the future, I try to do something to help my family once again, and it all turns wrong!"

"Poor boy," Myrtle proclaimed.

Draco began to cry, hot, angry, indignant tears. The events of this year, combined with everything that happened the first time he went through it, was finally catching up to him, and it was almost too much to bear. The thought that his child might have to live without him, and that his wife might have to face an evil monster without him, came crashing down on him, and it was overwhelming! "The first time I was here the Dark Lord forced me to help kill Dumbledore! Now this year, some insane, jealous, bastard forced me to relive it all again, and now Hermione might die! She might die!

Harry had heard enough. He rushed into the bathroom, wand drawn and he shouted, "What's going on, Malfoy?"

Then Draco remembered why he was in this bathroom, on this day. Potter. It was happening all over again! All he thought was, no, no, no, NO! He drew his wand, and instead of the Cruciatus Curse, which he tried to use in the past on Potter, he merely tried to disarm him this time, but once again, Precious Potter was too fast.

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted at the same time that Potter shouted, "Sectumsempra!"

Draco's spell rebounded off Harry's spell, and busted one of the pipes near the sinks. Water began to squirt rapidly from the pipe, as Draco fell backwards, his skin cut to ribbons, blood flowing everywhere, mingling with the water, causing the floor to have an eerie, pink tinge.

Blood continued to pore out of every laceration, and the pain Draco felt was excruciating. Moaning Myrtle floated out of the bathroom, shouting, "Murder in the boy's bathroom! Murder!"

Harry stood in shock over the bloody body of Draco Malfoy. He felt a mixture of fear, surprise, and remorse. He had no idea what that spell would do! He only knew the book said it was for enemies, and he felt that Malfoy was his enemy.

Hermione had just reached the top of the stairs when she heard Moaning Myrtle scream. She couldn't help it, she screamed, too. She screamed, "DRACO!"

* * *

_A/N: Almost 7,000 words people, and only two chapters to go, and a short epilogue. I am actually finished with this story, I just need to type it up and send it to my beta. By the way, thanks again to my beta, Oliverwoodsgirl. She's done an awesome job with this story, keeping me on track, and helping me to remember that some people may not have read the first two stories._

_This story was featured in this months "Dramione Quiz" on Livejournal. They gave me an awesome little banner, which I will place in the summary of this story on Granger Enchanted. _


	39. Part XXXIX

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XXXIX:**

**Blood:**

Hermione screamed as she ran into the boy's bathroom, right before skidding upon the water and blood on the floor. Draco's hands, face, and entire body, were crimson with blood. One laceration became another, and he was almost unrecognizable. A strangled cry caught in Hermione's throat, for at that moment, she could not breathe or speak.

She turned to Harry, who stood over Draco in silent shock. She pulled his wand from his hand and threw it across the room. She said, "What have you done!" She fell to her knees on the floor, beside her nearly unconscious husband. She looked back toward Harry once and said only his name. She said, "Harry," almost as a plea. She didn't know what else to say. She knew that in the future, Harry often spoke of his regret at having used that spell on Draco. He often said it was one of his biggest regrets, so she knew he was remorseful. As she turned to her husband, she realized that he had never spoken to her of his feeling and thoughts of this day, and worse, she had never asked. She leaned toward him. She didn't know where to touch him, for there wasn't one part of him that was not bleeding.

She whispered, "I'm so sorry, Draco. I didn't know it was today. I didn't know. I'm so sorry." She began to cry, and she picked up his bloody hand and held it to her chest.

He was still conscious, and he said softly, "Sh, don't cry. It hardly even hurts," although that was a lie. He closed his eyes, and coherent thought left him, as he fainted from the blood loss.

Soon, a crowd formed around the doorway, but no one dared enter. Snape's loud booming voice could be heard, telling everyone to disperse. He rushed inside, also skidding upon the wet and bloody floor. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his godson on the floor. He froze at the sight before him. He turned to Potter, and before he could ask Harry what happened, Harry said, "Sir, I didn't know what the spell did! I swear, I didn't know!"

Snape turned a deaf ear to Harry's excuses, then he turned back to Hermione and he said, "Miss Granger, I trust you know how to levitate a body?"

She could only nod and whimper her response. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Get Draco to the hospital wing, immediately, without further delay. I shall be right there." He turned to a fifth year Slytherin, who stayed by the door, and demanded, "Go find Professors Sanguini, McGonagall and Boot. Tell them to meet me in the hospital wing." Lastly, he turned to Harry and said, "Go find me your Potion's book, now, Potter! Meet me back here! You have ten minutes, and ten minutes only."

Hermione began to levitate her husband out the door, and through the hallway. Even though levitating something as heavy as a body was usually magic beyond a student, she garnered no strange looks, beyond the shock and disgust that most people emitted at the sight of the bloody, lifeless body, of Draco Malfoy.

She yelled at everyone to get out of her way. She came upon Sanguini and Don. Don gasped in horror. Sanguini looked at all the blood, and the trail that followed Hermione and Draco, and then he said, "I'm sorry, I can't help. There's too much blood. I'm not a saint." He ran from the scene.

Don took Hermione's wand from her and said, "I have him now, Hermione. Come on, we mustn't waste anymore time."

An hour later, Don and Hermione sat waiting in the hallway. Sanguini had rejoined them, and he was pacing back and forth. The smell of blood was still thick in the air, even to the others, but especially to him. McGonagall walked out into the hall and said, "Poppy is at a loss. She heals one wound, and another appears. She stops the bleeding of one laceration, and another opens back up. Mr. Malfoy has already gone through two blood replenishment potions. She applies bandages, and they are soaked through in no time."

Minerva turned to Sanguini and said, "Perhaps whatever you did to Miss Granger that day, to stop her bleeding, would work with Mr. Malfoy."

Sanguini's eyes opened wide and he backed into the hall. "No, that was different. That was only a small amount of blood. I am afraid the blood lust would overtake me, if I even went near him, Minerva. I am so sorry, but I can't." He looked at Hermione, apologetically, but she understood.

Snape walked out of the room and said, "The Headmaster has decided to send him to St. Mungo's for treatment, and of course, his mother must be notified." He looked at Hermione, "Therefore," he continued, "if there is anything you need to tell him before he leaves, you best do it now. He is alert again."

Hermione nodded in understanding. She took Don's hand, and pulled him into the hospital wing with her.

Draco was on the bed, the Headmaster and the Mediwitch were in the corner talking. She sat on the bed, and took his bandaged hand, which was already soaked through with blood, though it had just been applied.

"Draco," she said in earnest. He turned to look at her. "Do you forgive me?"

"Hermione, there's nothing to forgive, so please, don't say something so ridiculous, okay. I'm not in the mood," he said. She laughed through her tears.

She kissed his cheek and said, "I don't have much time, and I know this isn't a good time, but it's urgent that I tell you something. After St. Mungo's you have to insist that you go home, at least for a day, or an hour, whatever time you have left. You have to get the Hufflepuff/Slytherin locket, as well as the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor one. I believe in this time, they must still be in the vaults in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor."

"Hermione, it would be so dangerous to try to take anything out of that house, right now. You know who's there, don't you?" he said softly.

She leaned forward, and said in his ear, "It's the only way to beat Helena, and to get home. You thought your coming here was worthless, and that you served no purpose, but if you can do this, then you will serve the greatest purpose. You will help me defeat her. We need those lockets. Please, try to find a way, and then come back to me. We don't have much time, Draco."

Don took her arm and pulled her aside as they were ready to transport Draco to the Wizarding Hospital. Draco said, "Wait!" He looked at Hermione and said, "Come here, Granger." She walked back up to the bed, and he said, "I'll do whatever I have to, to keep my family safe. That's all I've ever wanted. It's why I came. You can count on me, little one. I love you so much."

She began to cry again. She took his hand, and held it the entire time they levitated him toward the floo in the Mediwitch's office. Before he disappeared she said, "I love you so much, too."

They took him away before he could respond. She flung herself into Don's arms and cried. He held her for a while, and then said, "No time for tears, Hermione. We have a lot of work to do, and little time to do it. Let's go get Sanguini, and go down to my office, where we can work on what spells you'll need to get rid of my evil stepmother forever."

**Malfoy Manor**:

Draco was only in the hospital for two days, and then luckily, his mother insisted that he come back home. He knew he could only stay for a day at home, because time was running out, and they had to implement their plan very soon.

He paced along the corridors of the third floor, where his rooms were. He knew that it would be dangerous to try to get to the dungeons, and go to the vault, because Voldemort had most of the bottom floor of the Mansion as his headquarters. Just being in the same place as the Dark Lord put Draco on edge, and made him recall the most unpleasant thoughts.

His aunt called out his name as he paced the hallway, and he shuddered. He looked up in time to see Bellatrix storming toward him from the far end of the hallway. He hated this woman with a passion, however, she was a very accomplished Leglimence, but he was equally good at Occlumency, having been taught by Snape and his father, so he made sure he put up a barrier in his mind as soon as she was close enough to enter it. She had been trying to enter his mind for the last two days, and it was irritating him to no end.

His fear was that he might be presented to the Dark Lord while he was here, to update his progress, and he wasn't sure he could keep HIM out of his mind. "What do you want, Aunt?" Draco asked as she stepped up to him.

"Should you be out of bed? Your mother wouldn't like that," she scolded.

"I'm fine," he said back.

"Don't worry, Draco dear, we'll make that Harry Potter pay for what he did to you," his aunt leered. "Soon he and all his followers shall die, especially that little Mudblood."

Draco's eyes widened, and Bellatrix said, "Yes, you let your guard down for a moment, and I saw her in your mind. You hate her as much as you hate Potter, don't you?"

He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. He knew that Bellatrix hated Hermione. Flashes of Bellatrix torturing Hermione during their seventh year started to come to the surface, but he pushed them back quickly. With a look of disgust on his face, (which was for her, not Hermione), he lied and said, "Yes, I hate her more than anyone." He meant he hated his aunt, so he sounded quite convincing.

"The Dark Lord wants an update, Draco; do you feel up to seeing him today?" Bellatrix asked.

"If he so commands it," Draco responded.

She smiled and said, "I'm so proud of you. He is actually not here at the moment, and I suppose I could persuade him to wait a day or two." Draco called her bluff apparently. The Dark Lord must not be here right now. That was good. He could get to the dungeons.

"Aunt, are the dungeons being used for anything at the moment?" he asked.

"They are being made ready for prisoners, my boy," she answered.

"I need a few things from the vault. Don't tell my mother, she'll ask what I need the items for, and the less she knows, the better," Draco answered.

"Yes, your mother is weak sometimes," Bellatrix said. "Go on down there now, boy, and get whatever you need. I must leave the Manor, to be by the Dark Lord's side. We are planning another mass exodus of Death Eaters from Azkaban. Soon, your father will join us, Draco." She smiled a genuine smile at him, and patted his cheek.

Draco smiled back, turned to walk down the hall, and then let the smile slip off his face. If he wasn't under the magic of the blue moon, and if he could change the course of things, he wouldn't care how it would affect the future, he would kill that woman. He would.

He made his way through the labyrinths of hallways to the family vault, deep in the heart of the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. His family kept very little at Gringotts, relying on these vaults for their truly important heirlooms. It was why they were still quite wealthy, (nay, extremely wealthy) after the war. The Ministry seized most property belonging to Death Eaters after the war, at least those from Gringotts. Since most of their wealth was locked up in these walls, the Ministry never discovered it.

Draco found the vault, used his wand to prick his finger, so that a dollop of red blood appeared. He wondered if he could spare even such a small amount after what happened to him. He let the dollop drop on a small, stone precipice that jetted out on the side of the wall. The blood disappeared, and a door appeared in its place. Draco then said the password, and he entered.

He went right to the place where he knew the lockets were. He picked the box containing the lockets up, his thumb stroking the smooth, dark wood, of the box lightly, before he opened the box to look at them closely. He remembered when he gave them to her, the year of the excavation of the Founder's castle.

* * *

_Flashback to Familiar Place II: The Lockets:_

"_I wanted to show you something, but I don't want you to tell Paul about them, because they're something that if the Ministry knew my family had, they would confiscate them." Draco told Hermione._

_She was all keyed up. "What is it?"_

"_Come to my room," he told her. She followed him to his room, and he escorted her to his bed. He said a locking spell on his door, although no one could enter without the password, and then he came to sit beside her. He took a wooden box out of his satchel, no bigger than an envelope. Inside were two lockets. One, gold, with ancient Celtic looking writing, and the other, silver, with the same type of symbols as the first._

_Draco said, "What I have here have been in the Malfoy family for something like 500 years. I had to go to the Manor, down in the vault, to get them. I wasn't even sure that they were still there. I have only seen them once in my life."_

"_What are they," Hermione asked, reaching to touch one, but then drawing her hand back._

"_You can touch them, it's alright," he said, picking up the silver one and handing it to her, as he picked up the gold one. "Open it," he implored._

_She did as directed, and inside the silver locket were two pictures. The picture on of the left side of the locket was of a man with dark hair and a mustache and beard. The portrait on the right side of the locket was of a woman with long blonde hair. She inhaled an intake of breath, and said, "Draco, these are the people from my vision!"_

"_Those are portraits of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin," he stated calmly. He opened the gold locket and showed her the portraits of Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. _

"_How did these come to be in your family?" she asked, adding, "Are they accurate. Are they authentic?"_

"_Yes, they are, and I have no idea how we obtained them. I am sure some Malfoy hundreds of years ago stole them. Supposedly, they were taken from this school. There's probably no one alive today who even knows of their existence," he said._

* * *

As he recalled that episode clearly, he had another thought. How would they return them? These lockets would be needed in a few years, when Hermione uses the Slytherin one to recover Helga's memories. Hermione and Don must not have thought of that.

He would worry about that later. Even if he had to stay behind to return them, he would. He stuffed the box in his jacket pockets and began to walk back down the corridors. He had just reached the main stone stairwell that led up to the first floor, when he saw his mother on the stairs.

"Bellatrix said you were down here."

That stupid bitch, Draco thought. "Is she still here?"

"No, believe it or not, for once, we are alone in our own home, Draco," she said, sounding relieved. He suddenly felt badly for his mother. This must have been so hard on her. Worrying about her son, her husband, and the Dark Lord in her home, not to mention, having a crazed-manic for a sister.

Draco also knew that he _could_ trust his mother. She made that unbreakable vow with Snape this very year, to protect her only son. He knew that she would always protect him. He had to trust her.

"Mother, I have to tell you something very, very important, and I need your help, but you can't ask me why, but if you refuse to help me, I might die," he said. He knew he was being overly dramatic, but yet truthful.

She had a sharp intake of breath and asked, "What is it, Son?"

"Mother, I have two lockets from the vault in my pocket. I need them to fulfill a task." He was purposely being vague, but not really lying. He wanted her to believe he needed them for the task the Dark Lord gave him.

"Go on, Draco," she said, holding one of his hands in both of hers.

"After I use these, I will need you to put them back in the vaults. It's very important that they are put back right where I got them, and as soon as you get them back. If you fail to do this, and it's discovered that they're missing, it would be the end of me," he said quickly. "Will you do this for me?"

"What are you using them for, Son?" she asked.

"I cannot say, and you cannot tell anyone I have them, and you especially can't let anyone, even your sister, know what you're doing. You must guard your mind, so that they can't read what we intend to do. Please. Will you do this for me?" She saw the desperation in his eyes, and without asking for further explanation, she kissed his cheek and agreed. He took the lockets out of the box which had housed them for centuries, handed the box to her, and then stuffed the lockets back in his robe.

He told his mother that she could find the lockets hidden in an abandoned old house, under a floorboard, in the front right room, in Hogsmeade, in a week's time. It was their house. It was the house where Hermione was to battle Helena. His mother asked no questions or reasons why. She just agreed.

"You know I have to go back to school now, don't you?" he asked.

She became teary eyed, but nodded. She hugged her son, as they stood on the steps of the dungeons, and she said, "If I could have kept this life from you, I would have. I should have. Perhaps I should have left your father, and taken you away, long ago, although I love him so, and he loves you more than the moon and the stars. You know that the Dark Lord expects you to fail your mission, don't you?"

"Yes mother and I also know that Snape won't let that happen, thanks to you," he said with a smile. He touched her cheek, and kissed it gently. "Someday, I'll make you proud of me, Mother, I swear. I'll have a wife, and children, and a respectable job."

"Oh, Son, I'm proud of you now," she said wistfully. She returned his kiss, and then she took his hand and they walked up the stairs. He found his bag packed at the top of the stairs. He looked at his mother, confused, and she said, "I thought it would be prudent for you to go back to Hogwarts before the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters return. You're not safe here: you will be at school, at least for now."

He chuckled when he thought about all the dangers that had happened at school, and then said, "Sure, relatively safe."

He owled Don to tell him that he was apparating to Hogsmeade, and that he would walk the rest of the way to school. He joined his mother for a late breakfast and a final goodbye before he left.

Hermione was waiting for him in Hogsmeade when he arrived.

**A Final Love Scene:**

Hermione ran to his arms. He dropped his bag and held her in his embrace. Then he pushed her slightly away from him and said, "What if someone sees us?"

"They won't," she said.

"I got the lockets," he told her proudly.

"I've been thinking," she said, still holding his hands. "How will we get the lockets back to the vault at Malfoy Manor?"

He smiled and said, "Well for once, I guess I'm smarter than you. I've already taken care of that, but you have to be sure to leave yours under that loose floorboard in our future dining room, and we'll have to trust Paul, or perhaps Terry, to return the Ravenclaw one to the same place. After that, my mother will get them and return them."

"Draco, you didn't tell your mother about all of this, did you?" she asked, worried.

"No, but I told her it had to do with my task this year, which isn't a lie, and it pulled at her heartstrings a bit, motherly guilt and all, so she agreed, and she'll be careful and not tell a soul," he promised.

Hermione smiled. "Thank goodness," she praised. "Don, Sanguini and I have come up with several spells that may be of use to us, and Nick Boot came back to the past, again. He's helping us too, so I think we're ready. I'm scared, Draco."

He pulled her into the confines of his arms and said, "Me, too, little one."

"I need you, Draco," she said.

"I'll never leave you," he promised.

"No, I need you, to feel you, by me, inside me, one more time, in case it's the last time," she explained.

He gave her a sad smile, and cupped her cheek. "Oh sweetheart, we can't. Where would we go?"

"Our house, well, it's not our house in this time, but Don, Sanguini and I have been preparing it for when Helena arrives. I sort of snuck away and set up one of the rooms for us." She blushed, which he found amusing, since they were married, they had a child together, and they had made love more times than he could count. "It will be perfectly safe. We have time. McGonagall excused me from classes, because she knows I'm preparing for the showdown with Helena."

"Making love to me is part of the preparation, aye?" he asked.

She laughed and said, "It will give me fortitude."

"Lead the way, Hermione." He picked up his bag, took her hand, and she led him to their future home.

They stood in the middle of their future bedroom. Though it was mid morning outside, it was dark inside this room, so she had candles and lanterns lit. There was a mattress, covered with blankets and pillows on the floor. He looked around and said, "You thought of everything, didn't you? Is there music, too?"

"I could hum," she said.

He turned to her and said, "I'll make you hum, Granger." He crooked his finger to her and said, "Come here."

Quite willingly, she sought the comfort of his embrace. Her arms went around his neck, his around her waist, and they stared at each other, body against body. Just having him near, and touching her, gave her strength to carry out what she was certain was going to be a difficult task. Having him touch her, kiss her, caress her, was vital to her wellbeing, and he must have sensed this, because he said, "It'll be okay."

He was so much taller than she was, and his chin rested on her head for a moment, as they hugged each other. He said, "I know you're worried, and you're thinking about what you have to do in a few days, but for now, just give it all up, and let me carry the load for you." It was the least he could do.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks, he stood slightly away from her, and he kissed one cheek, and then the other. Her pain seeped into his body, and he was willing to absorb that pain for her, if he could. He would. He wished he could take it all from her, but he knew that was impossible.

He stroked her back, as she reached in front of her and unbuttoned her blouse. He backed away, and taking her cue, removed his own clothing. "You're so beautiful, Hermione," he proclaimed, staring at her naked body. He meant more than physical beauty, but he couldn't articulate that thought at the moment.

"I need you, Draco," she said, as she continued to cry.

"I know, I need you, too," he responded.

He lowered them both to the mattress, and covered her with his warmth. He kissed her with a kiss that was tinged in both sorrow and regret. She dug her fingertips so deeply into his shoulders that he feared she would leave marks.

She felt the small scars on his skin from his recent curse, and pushed him away from her. "I'm sorry I never once asked you about what happened in the boy's bathroom with you and Harry. I know it hurt. I know you were afraid. Will you forgive me?" she asked.

"For what? I never once tried to talk to you about it, either. I never wanted to talk about it, so don't worry or fret. Let's not waste precious time worrying about that." She hooked one legs instinctually over his hip, so he would be closer still. He began to kiss down her neck, and across her chest. He took one breast in his palm, and she arched toward him, her hands in his hair, when he put it in his mouth and sucked. He was hungry for her. His mouth went back to hers, and their tongues fought for possession over the other, their bodies responding to each kiss.

Her chest ached from want and desire, and when he began to kiss and lick her breasts again, she reached down for him, and grasped him with one hand. His head lifted up and he groaned. He couldn't wait. No more foreplay. This was too important.

He lifted his pelvis, and thrust deeply inside her. She cried out at first, he looked at her surprised, and she said, "It's just been a while. It feels good. Keep going."

"So bossy, I swear," he grunted. He his hands reached down to cup her bum, and he practically got up on his knees, with her pelvis angled slightly upward, her back still on the mattress.

His hands were now on her hips, he pulled her toward him, and he began a rhythmic assault, which soon, she was able to meet, thrust for thrust. He clenched his teeth, his eyes closed, and he realized that he felt more desire for this woman right now than he had ever felt for her.

She moved around on the mattress, and he let go of her hips, and slipped out of her slightly, so that he could lie back down on top of her. He knew that he was moving just the right way, and that her release would be very close.

She rocked and moved underneath him, humming, as she was apt to do when they made love, and for a second, he realized that he had almost forgotten about that. He was on the verge of orgasm, when he stopped moving.

"What?" she asked desperately.

"This will not be the last time we do this, do you understand me?" he asked urgently, almost demandingly, finally realizing that when they were outside earlier, she said that she wanted to make love to him one last time.

"Draco," she pleaded.

"NO! This is not the last time! Say it!" He was so afraid.

"This won't be the last time, sweetheart," she promised. He wanted to believe her more than he wanted anything. He plunged in deeper and deeper again, and she toppled over the edge, experiencing a white, blinding, earth-shattering, mind-blowing, white stars bursting in front of her eyes, climax.

He didn't stop until he felt the exact same thing. He collapsed on top of her, and she held his shoulders tightly, because this time he was crying. He pulled out of her, lay down beside her, and pulled her into his arms, and onto his chest.

She reached up for his face, and stroked his cheek, the whole time saying, "I love you, don't worry, it will be okay."

He didn't know if he believed her or not, but he wanted to, more than anything. He pulled one of the blankets over them, and although he felt like sleeping, he began to talk to her instead.

They talked about the little things. They didn't discuss Helena Boot, Voldemort, the past, the future, the present. They didn't talk about Carina. They talked, embraced in the other's arms, for over an hour, about silly things, playful things, inconsequential things. After they talked, they finally stood up, cleaned up, and got dressed.

She said, "I have to go back before you." They walked down the stairs, hand in hand.

They stood on the steps outside their home, and she squeezed his hand, and kissed his mouth once more. She smiled. She finally felt like everything really would be okay. She slipped her hand from his, started to run, looked back once and waved, and then ran all the way to Hogwarts.

He sat down on the steps of their future home, and started to cry again, because he didn't think anything would ever be the same again.


	40. Part XL

**All characters belong to JKR**

**Part XL:**

**Secrets:**

The wiles of spring were in full bloom. Usually this was one of Hermione's favourite times at Hogwarts, because springtime brought renewal, promise, and hope for the future. All dying things were reborn. It was the end of school, but the beginning of summer. It was a time when all good things could mask bad things. Hermione wished she could find her usual joy and promise in spring, but all she found, as she walked the grounds of the school alone, was fear and loathing. She was anxious, and filled with dread.

In two days time Draco and Don would leave her, and the day after, she would fight Helena alone. Everything was still so uncertain. Would she succeed, or fail? She hardly knew.

She was waiting for Draco. They were going to have a quiet lunch, by themselves, before he went back to the future. She was anticipating this lunch almost as much as she usually anticipated spring. She wanted one last piece of normalcy with her husband, just in case her future changed irreparably.

She walked closer to the lake, her robe over her arm, when she heard someone calling her name. She turned, and across lake she saw who was calling her. It was Carina.

NO! Why had she returned? Was something wrong with their plan? Had things already been altered in the distant future, and Carina came back once more to warn them? Carina stood on one side of the lake, and Hermione on the other. She yelled across, "What are you doing here?" However, her daughter couldn't hear her. She shook her head. She motioned for Hermione to join her on the other side.

Carina called her name again. She knew what she had to do. She had to go to her daughter, but she also had to leave a message for Draco. She took off her school tie, and tied it around a low, lying branch. Draco would see it and know that she was there.

It was the only thing she could think to do. She couldn't risk sending him her patronus, on the chance that someone else might see, and she couldn't leave him a note, for the same reason.

She laid her robe on the ground. She reached inside the pocket, and for some reason, took out the Slytherin/Hufflepuff locket. She slipped it around her neck, and over her blouse. Paul had already given the other one to his mother.

She wasn't sure why she put it on, but it felt as if it was the right thing to do.

She ran around to the other side of the lake, running through knee-high reeds and brambles. She was closer to Carina now, but her daughter turned and said, "Hurry, Mother. Hurry!"

Hermione called after her. "Why are you back? What happened? Where are we going?" She never answered.

Hermione felt slightly afraid, because the thought that this might not be her daughter flashed in her mind. Then she reasoned that Helena would not know what her grown daughter looked like, so she followed Carina, all the way into the forbidden forest. Soon, she saw Carina enter the Ravenclaw cave. She felt it was safe to follow her there, since Don put up wards to protect it from Helena. She also knew that Paul was still hiding there. Perhaps he was in trouble.

She answered the riddle, and walked inside, past the bush which guarded the entrance. She walked through the narrow passageways, her wand out before her, lit to illuminate her way. She called out again, "Carina? Are you there?"

She entered the now familiar smaller chamber, and she peered down to the larger chamber below. She felt fear. The hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood up. She remembered what happened in this cave during her eighth year at Hogwarts, which naturally brought the memories of what happened with Helena in the Slytherin cave to the forefront of her mind. Her intuition told her this was a mistake. She should not have come here.

"Come on down, Hermione. I know you're here," a familiar voice said. Hermione shut her eyes, and placed her hand over her heart, and the locket. She was such a fool to follow a phantom daughter. She should have known better.

She looked around the opening, and saw a beautiful woman, with raven black hair, long blue robes, and on her chest the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor locket.

"Helena," Hermione said.

"Won't you join me, my dear? I've waited so long to see you," Helena said, acting the perfect hostess. Hermione saw Paul Boot in the corner, beaten and bound. Helena said, "You know my son, I take it. He's been quite bad. He's betrayed me, or at least, he tried. First he came to me earlier this year, pleading for help. Help me mother, he said. Help me win the heart of my one true love. But then, he tried to trick me. What is a mother to do? I found out he's not even my son from this time, but from the future. Do you know what else I found out, dear?"

"I haven't a clue," Hermione answered steadily.

"You're from the future, also. I found the spell that you and Paul used to come back. It's a curious little spell, from Ravenclaw's ancient text, written by none other than her. It sends a person back in time, where they may inhabit their own body, as you and Paul have done, or appear as their future self, as you daughter did, when she came back."

"Fascinating," Hermione retorted. Hermione began to breathe harder, as she grasped her wand tightly in her hand. She took several steps toward the woman, which meant she was now deeply inside the main chamber of the cave. It should be dark in the cave, but it was as light as day. Hermione said, "How did you replicate my daughter's image?"

"I saw what she looked like, in the mind of my son," Helena said lightly. "It was easy to manipulate you into following her." The woman stood in front of Paul and added, "I've seen all sorts of things in his weak mind. He came to me, not once telling me he was from the future, and he wanted my help in securing the love of his life. I was happy to oblige, but at a price."

Helena looked down at Paul, and then back to Hermione. "He tried to keep things from me, but I'm a gifted seer. I've been seeing things that didn't make sense for years. Things about a Muggle-born being the heir of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, when all along I thought I was that heir. I saw you, Miss Granger, but I didn't know until I looked into my son's mind that you would someday be the death of me, and my son Terry."

She looked evil personified when she said, "I never really loved any of my sons, though I did have a soft spot for the youngest, but I loved the daughter I had to give away. I had to give her away, to marry my sons' father. I had to marry him, because he was the last known heir to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and I thought I was the last heir to Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I thought we would join, and I would have another daughter, and she would fulfill the prophecy handed down by Ravenclaw herself, that a daughter of all four heirs would be the strongest witch of our time."

"Then, I saw in his mind the truth. A truth I was fearful of for a long time. I wasn't that heir. I was the descendent of Ravenclaw and some dark wizard called Darian." The woman was practically seething by now. "You are the heir, and your child's future child is the key to my prophecy, not my children."

"Your daughter will someday marry the son of Nick Boot. The thing no one knows is that when I killed Don Boot's mother, so that I might marry his father, I pretended to be with child, his child. I tricked him into sleeping with me while he was still married to his first wife. I had to assure that he would marry me right away, after the loss of his precious wife, so I told him I was carrying his child. The actuality was that his wife was with child. That child was Nick. I kept her alive, but hidden, long enough until she delivered, and then I pretended the child was my own."

"Do you see how important that is?" Helena asked.

Hermione did not.

"Don Boot always assumed he was the last heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, Gryffindor from his mother's side, and Ravenclaw from his father, but Nick's real mother is one and the same as Don's mother. Therefore, his son is from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, your child is from Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and their child someday will be the one from my prophecy. I have to stop that."

"As soon as I realized all of this, I decided right then that your child must die. That was what I intended. I went to your time, using the same spell you and Carina and Paul, and now Nick, used to come back in time, only I went forward in time. However, to go forward, one can only exist as a disembodied spirit, that is, if they're dead in the future, as I am. I went to my daughter in the future, to enlist her help, only to find that Paul had put her into a deep sleep. I had no recourse, so I summoned the power of nature and animals to help me kill you and your child, but nothing worked. You were too well protected."

"Would you like to know another curious thing about this little spell?"

"If you feel the need to enlighten me, you should," Hermione said back.

"Even if I kill you now, it won't change what has already happened in the future. You will still kill me someday," she smiled and added, "Yes, I saw that little bit of prophecy a long time ago, and your daughter would still be born. You, however, would cease to be in your time, but that won't solve my problems, especially as your child will still be alive, and is destine to have the child from my prophecy."

"It's much like the magic of the blue moon, although, unlike the blue moon, you _can_ change things. Ravenclaw was a smart one, wasn't she? Always thinking of all possibilities and outcomes. I'm glad I have her blood in me. I'm also glad I have Darian blood in me. That's what will save me in the end. I've decided that instead of killing you, since it won't serve any purposes, I'll let you give me the Darian wand first. That way, I will vanquish you now, and send you back to your time, much the same way you intended to vanquish me, and then I'll replace the Darian wand with a fake. In a few years time, when you go to the cave to get my wand, you will retrieve a false wand, and I will already have the real one. I think my plan will work. What do you think?"

Hermione was sure she wasn't meant to answer.

"You see, I'm just trying to secure my future. You wouldn't fault a woman for that, would you?"

It dawned on Hermione that she didn't have the Darian wand with her. It also dawned on Hermione that she might not need it, since she could kill Helena in this time, with her own wand, but killing Helena in this time WOULD change the future, and Hermione couldn't do that. She was meant to vanquish her from the future, back to the past, but here she was, already in the past. Still, Hermione wasn't meant to kill her now.

"Why so quiet, little Mudblood?" Helena said.

"I'm trying to come up with all the ways I might kill you," Hermione said coolly. "How did you get in this cave? Don put up protection spells."

"This lovely locket my son gave me grants me all sorts of liberties. It increases my magical ability, my seer gift, and allows me access to any place I want. Thank you, for having him give it to me," Helena said with a smile. Hermione wondered if the locket on her own neck gave her the same abilities.

Paul was shaking his head, as he sat on the floor. He managed to push the gag out of his mouth and he said, "Hermione, I'm sorry. Please, I'm so sorry."

Helena pointed her wand at Paul and without preamble, said, "Avada Kedarva!" He fell over dead. Hermione began to cry. "Oh, did you care for him after all dear?"

**Finality:**

Draco went out to the lake to meet Hermione for a picnic. It was to be their last 'hurrah' before he returned to his time. He hated that he couldn't be here with her while she battled Helena, but he had to go back to the future tomorrow, so he would be content with the way things were, and he would hope and pray that Hermione would be successful, and would come back to him. He walked up to the lake, and immediately he found Hermione's robe and tie. He was beyond worried.

He ran back to the castle to get Don. Don and the current Nick sat in Don's office. Before he could tell Don that Hermione was missing, Sanguini ran into Don's office behind Draco and said, "Oh my God! I just had a flash of a changed memory. Paul Boot! He's no longer of the future!"

Don pushed past Draco and grabbed Sanguini's arms. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, my memory changes as things are changed in the past and the future. Don, Nick, I'm so sorry, but Paul Boot is dead."

Nick broke down and began to cry. Don collapsed in his chair. Draco held up Hermione's tie and robe and said, "Helena's here. I know it. Hermione's missing."

Everyone began shouting at once. Nick walked to the center of the room and said, "QUIET!" He closed his eyes, tears still pouring down his face, and he said, "I feel her. She's at Hogwarts. I don't know how she was allowed to take Hermione on the grounds, because the magic of Slytherin, which prohibited any Darian heir to hurt any of his heirs, should have kept her from Hermione, but she has her. They're in the Ravenclaw cave." He opened his eyes. "That's where mother killed Paul. She also has Terry there. We have to hurry."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione said, "I wonder something, Helena."

"What is that dear?" she asked.

"Even with the Darian wand, which by the way, I don't have on me at the moment, I wonder, how you will change things? Even if you, as you called it, vanquish me from this time, and send me back to my time, the future me will still try to kill you someday. Nick's seer ability was always greater than your own, and he will see things differently, which means we will find another way to kill you. There's also the problem of a Vampire named Sanguini. He has a perpetual memory. He's traveled back, too, but he has a constant knowledge of the future, the past, the present, and everything that changes."

"He has probably already seen that Paul Boot no longer exists in the future. He has probably already told Don and the others. You're still going to die. I pity you, I think, because you really didn't think this out, after all."

Helena looked angry.

"Furthermore, you can't kill me here. That locket might have allowed you access to this cave, but this cave is still on Hogwarts grounds. You couldn't even get me to come here, without tricks. I had to come of my own freewill. Slytherin's magic against all Darians and their heirs still protects me. You can only kill me with the Darian wand, and it's in an old abandoned house, in Hogsmeade."

"Your future house?" Helena asked, anxiously.

"Yes," Hermione said. She had to get that woman to that house. The wand wasn't there, but there was something there that would work. She guarded her mind closely, so the woman couldn't see she was lying.

Helena closed her eyes for a moment and said, "I can't see if it's there or not. My ability is clouded. I also cannot tell if you lie, but if you do, your death will be one hundred time more painful than you can imagine. Let us go to your home dear. I hope it is set to receive visitors."

"It's ready for you," Hermione said. The woman couldn't force her to go, but she would gladly go there, if it meant all of this would end.

Hermione turned to walk out of the cave. That was when she saw Terry Boot in the other corner of the chamber. He was in a sort of trance. She walked up to him and said, "Terry?"

Helena walked behind Hermione and said, "He will be fine, as long as you aren't lying to me. He dies soon anyway, so I'll spare him for now. Let's go, little Slytherin heir, but first…" She summoned Hermione's wand to her hand. "I'll take your wand."

The men headed toward the forest, when Nick stopped. "Wait. They aren't there any longer. I feel strongly that Hermione is leading her to the house. That's good."

He looked back to the others and said, "Don, you and Sanguini go to the cave. Get Terry out, and take Paul's body out." He looked at Draco and said, "You can come with me, but I have to insist that you don't interfere, please. We've prepared the house for the final battle, and we have to let Hermione do this on her own."

Draco was so afraid for Hermione that he would agree to anything. He nodded. Nick and Draco ran toward Hogsmeade.

Hermione entered the house first, followed by Helena. Helena looked around and said, "I have only been in this house in the future, while in another dimension, but I see that you have done a lot of work on it in the future. My compliments, my dear."

Hermione felt like slapping the woman.

They walked toward the fireplace. Hermione said, "It's in the third brick above the fireplace mantel, on the left. The light coloured brick. You have to push in the brick, and reach inside."

"Then do so," Helena instructed. "I'll let you do the honours."

Helena smiled, assuming Hermione was trying to trick her. In reality, Hermione wanted to be the one to do it. It was important. Nevertheless, to be sure, she said, "You should do it, if you want the wand so badly. Surely you don't want me to touch it."

"If I remember right, from my visions, you can't wield its powers, anyway. Let's get this over. There's no use stalling."

Hermione sighed openly, and then reached over to the brick. She pushed on one side, and the brick scraped against the one on top and the one on bottom, and one side of the brick pushed inward. Hermione reached inside, and pulled out a long, black velvet, sheath.

Helena's eyes widened in anticipation. Hermione knew she had to time this right. They had planned this to work on a future Helena, so she didn't know if it would work with a corporeal entity, but Hermione had no choice. She had to be close enough to the woman, for it to work. The lockets had to make contact.

She reached inside, and pulled out what looked like a black wand. It was really a special portal, a sort of metaphysical portkey, which they had rigged to send Helena back to her time, with no memory of what had occurred. Hermione had no idea what it would do to her now, since the woman was already in her time, but she couldn't wait to find out.

She held the black wand toward the woman, who smiled an almost maniacal smile. Once Helena's hand took the other end of the wand, Hermione refused to let go of her side. They both tugged on the wand, as Hermione began chanting an incantation in Latin, and soon the sky and the floor, and the walls and the space, ceased to be, and it was as if both women were in a vortex, spinning, spinning, forever downward, into a black abyss.

The lockets on their necks met in the middle. Helen began to scream, as Hermione continued to yell above the deafening noise of the unknown.

Hermione said:

"A posteriori a priori _(from the latter to the former)_ ab aeterno ab antique _(from the eternal, from the ancient_) absens haeres non erit _(an absent person will not be the heir)_

ad perpetuam memoriam _(to the perpetual memory)_ ad referendum (_to that which must be brought back_) alterum non laedere _(to not wound another)_ aut viam inveriam aut faciam _(either I will find a way, or I will make one.)"_

"Discede _(depart_) non memores acti prudentes future _(not mindful of what has been done, aware of what will be) _mors certa hora incerta (_Death is certain, its hour uncertain)_ respice, adspice, prospice _(look behind, look here, look ahead,) _consummatum est_ (It is complete)."_

Once the phrase was complete, Helena let go of the wand, she fell endlessly, continually, through the opening of the vortex, and she ceased from Hermione's sight.

Hermione fell to the floor, the black wand in her hand, and somehow, both lockets around her neck.

**It was done:.**

Nick and Draco stood in the hallway, and watched the entire thing. When Hermione fell to the ground, Draco rushed to her, but after a second, she too disappeared, and the only things lying on the ground were the lockets, and the portal. He turned to Nick, to ask him what was happening, but Nick disappeared, too.

Afraid and alone, Draco picked up the lockets, and ran out of the house, to find Don Boot.

Draco was afraid. What had happened? Where did Hermione go? He ran all the way to Hogwarts, and before he could reach the gates, he saw Don running from the forbidden forest.

"It worked!" Don shouted, a smile on his face.

"What worked! It didn't work! Helen disappeared, but so did Hermione! She's gone, Don!" Draco was beside himself. He threw himself toward his friend, and grabbed his shoulders.

"That means it worked, it really, really worked!" Don said, still smiling.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Draco demanded.

"The spell, to send Helena back, it had to have worked, because everything has been put right! All the people who came back **not** using the blue moon spell went back to their times! Even Paul! I don't know if he will be alive or not when we get back, but don't you see, it worked. It was meant to send them all back, and it did!"

"It sent everyone back to their times?" Draco asked, confused.

"Yes, and if it worked right, when we go back tomorrow, they'll never know we were missing. If Paul is alive, and he presents the same plan to me, I'll be ready this time. I'll get him the help that he needs. If he's dead, then, well, it's the price he paid for betraying his role of guardian to the heirs." Don sounded resolute.

"But what happened to Hermione?" Draco asked. "If my Hermione left this time, then shouldn't the past Hermione have been left in her place?"

Don smiled, and pulled on Draco's sleeve. "I don't think you understand, Draco." He pulled him all the way into the Great Hall, and pointed toward one of the long tables. Hermione was sitting at the table, with Weasley and Potter, reading a book.

Draco looked at Don and said, "Will she remember me? I mean, will she have the memories she had before my Hermione took her place?"

"Not if it worked right. If it worked right, I'm not even a professor here. Nothing that happened between the two blue moon will even have occurred. Dumbledore gave us the spell, and he said it would make everything right in the past, the present and the future. It would make everything as it was." Don smiled and patted Draco's back. "And tomorrow, we'll go back to our time. Hang on for one more day, Draco."

"Will we remember everything that happened, when we go back? If we don't, you won't know not to trust Paul again," Draco pointed out.

"Dumbledore said we will remember. Don't worry. You get to go back, and spend the year the way you were supposed to spend it, Draco, with your wife, awaiting the arrival of your first baby."

Draco smiled. Don said, "I have to get out of here. I have a few loose ends to tie up, and Sanguini is still here, but now as his past self, although he will be able to remember all that happened. He and I will go to my ancestral home, and make sure Helena is still there, and without memory of what happened."

"What if she sees the future, and knows this will happen?" Draco asked.

"The spell should keep that from happening, so we can only hope. I'll meet you at the edge of the ground tomorrow morning, and we'll go back. Don't be late. Nine o'clock, sharp. I'll tell Blaise, well Mark, to be sure to be there, too," Don said. He smiled once more, and hugged Draco.

"Thank you," Draco said.

"No, thank you. It was the lockets that allowed the connection between Hermione and Helena, which allowed the portal to open. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have gotten the lockets. Be sure to put them where you told your mother they would be. Best to do it now."

Draco fingered the lockets in his pocket, and then he looked in the Great Hall once more. Hermione looked up, glared at him, and he smiled at her. She looked confused for a moment. She looked behind her, and then back at him. He threw back his head and laughed.

On the way back from Hogsmeade, after delivering the lockets, he saw her under a tree, by the lake, reading, but of course.

"Enjoying the spring day, Granger?" he asked.

She looked up at him and said, "You weren't in class today."

"Keeping tabs on me now?" he asked.

"No," she said. She didn't seem as if she knew what else to say. She went back to her book.

He walked up to her, and stood over her. His shadow fell over her legs. She looked up, held her hand over her eyes to block the sun, and said, "Was there something else, Malfoy, or shall I hex you?"

He laughed again. He felt so happy. He loved his wife, and everything was going to be okay. He would even welcome a hex from the past Hermione, but instead he bent down, and got on his knees beside her.

She looked shocked. She reached in her robe for her wand. He held up his hand and said, "I'm unarmed."

"What do you want?" she asked.

He wanted to kiss her, but he would probably be killed shortly afterwards, so since she had her wand clenched tightly in her fist, he lend over to the side, and picked up a blue wildflower. He didn't know what type it was, its genus or name, but he plucked it from the ground, twirled it in his fingers for a moment, and then to her surprise, he placed it in her hair, behind her ear.

She reached up for it, but he reached for her hand. He held her hand in his, but only for a moment, because she snatched it away. He said, "Leave it. It improves your looks, Mudblood."

He stood up still smiling, and in his mind, he said the sentence he wanted to say to her. "It doesn't compare to the beauty of you, nor does it compare to the love I feel for you." He looked back once, and she had taken it out of her hair, but to his shock, she pressed it in the pages of a book. He turned back toward the school, and ran the whole way there.

**Epilogue:**

Draco woke up from a deep sleep, and at first, he thought it was a dream. He was back at his home in Hogsmeade, in his own time, with the muffled sound of rain on the windowpane. He found comfort in that sound and he knew that once more, everything was safe and right in his little world.

He had come back to the exact time when he had first decided to leave. He stood up and looked outside the window. It was dark, wet, with blowing wind, thunder and lightning, but he was safe inside. He looked over to his bed, and saw the woman that he loved fast asleep, and he knew there was no longer any reason to worry.

He heard a scratching on the same window, and looked out to see a totally soaked owl. He opened the window as quietly as he could, so as not to wake his wife. He took the message off its leg, and it flew away. He unrolled the piece of parchment, and saw that it was a note from Don.

It said:

* * *

**It's done. Everything is right. I told Nick everything. Oh, and Paul is alive! Nick and I went to Paul. We confronted him with his plan. He was surprised that we knew. We then had Sanguini tell him every bad thing that occurred because of his selfishness. He sat down and cried.**

**Our father has decided to place him under a sort of 'house arrest' where he will be watched by the Brotherhood of the Raven. He will also get some much needed help. Ellen is still in prison where she belongs. Everything is right. Kiss Hermione for me. I'll see you soon.**

**Love, Don**

* * *

Draco Malfoy looked over at the woman he loved and the small swell in her belly. He still could not believe he was going to be able to see his child born this time. He still had all the same worries he had the first time: Would he be a good father? Would he be a better father than his own father was? Would he be able to protect his child from harm? Nevertheless, he knew that this time, he would never leave them. He actually no longer doubted his ability to keep his family safe, either, since he knew he had done it before.

He sat down on the bed and said softly, "Hermione." She opened her eyes.

"Can't you sleep?" she asked.

"It's storming outside," he said.

"Are you afraid of the thunder?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, that's right, I'm afraid of the thunder," he said, repeating what he had said so many months ago. He placed his hand on her belly and pulled her closer to him. "How's junior?" He almost asked, "How's Carina," but he caught himself at the end. He would have to be careful not to make such foolish mistakes. He could never tell Hermione what happened this year.

"I told you not to call the baby that," she said.

"I have to call it something," he said. "It's not a zygote any longer, nor is it an embryo. It sounds too common to say 'the baby'. If he was still a fetus, I suppose I could call him Cetus the Fetus. Cetus is a name of a constellation."

"Over my dead body," she said. "You know if you'd like, I could tell you the gender, and we could go ahead and name it." Hermione had known the baby's gender since she was just 16 weeks pregnant. She was now 20 weeks pregnant.

Draco originally didn't want to know, so he made Hermione swear not to tell him, although she did anyway, but now that he knew it was a little girl, he said, "Tell me what we're having, Hermione. I'm ready to know."

"We're having a little girl," she squealed. He leaned over and hugged her tightly. She said, "I had a gender neutral name picked out, in case you didn't want to know."

Draco actually sat up in bed and repeated what he had said the first time. "Why do you get to name it? And you know I have to name it something in the Malfoy tradition. A constellation name, Hermione. My mother and father insist."

Hermione laughed, but then she saw Draco's stern countenance, she said, "Oh, you're not joking, are you?"

"What name do you have picked out for the little bugger?" Draco asked again, turning to his side and putting his hand on her arm.

"Terry. After Terry Boot. I thought Don would like that," she said.

As he thought the first time, after she told him that, it was a lovely sentiment, to want to name the baby after Terry, but he didn't want to saddle his baby with such a common name. "Hermione, with names like ours, don't you think the little baby inside you deserves something less mundane. We could use Terry for the middle name; I think that would be nice."

"Fine, Einstein, what do you want to name it," she asked, yawning.

Instead of the host of names he gave her as an option the first time they had this conversation, he said, "I like Carina. Carina Malfoy. My little girl, who I'll get to watch being born, and who will never know what it's like to grow up without a father, Carina."

"I think Carina is a perfect name. I like Hydra, too," she said.

"No Hydra. Wasn't she a mythical monster with eight arms?" he asked.

She smiled, punched her pillow, went to lie back down and said, "Carina it is, then."

He touched her arm and she opened her eyes again. "I'm so happy that we're having a girl."

Hermione smiled and said, "I'm glad, because it's too late to change it now."

"Yes, of course, and there's still plenty of time for us to have a little Cygnus or Polaris," he said.

"NO Polaris!" she said. She smiled, leaned over, kissed his lips and said, "Now, Carina and I have to get back to sleep."

Draco nodded and turned to his back. She turned to face him and he pulled her over to his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder, and placed her hand over his heart. He held her in his arms and said, "I love you both, more than anything, and I would travel through time and space to keep you both safe."

She looked up at him, leaned forward, kissed his lips soundly, and said, "That's good, because I love you both, too, and I would do the same."

They continued to listen to the rain as it beat on their roof and Draco wondered something. He said, "Hey, Granger, do you recall a time in sixth year, when I handed you a blue wildflower? What did you ever do with it?" He smiled, because he knew that she had kept it, but actually, if the blue moon did its job, she won't even have a memory of a blue flower.

"Draco, as you know, we hated each other in sixth year. You certainly never gave me a flower, and I'm sure if you had, I would have torn it to bits, spat on it, and buried it into the ground with my foot." She looked up at him again, and said, "Why did you ask me if I remembered something that never happened?"

"I just wanted to be sure," he said, his answer vague to her, but to him, he wanted to be sure that everything really did turn out right, and that they hadn't changed anything. He hugged her again and said, "Get to sleep now, little one, and littler one."

She closed her eyes, he held her all night, and though he didn't sleep, he dreamt of their future all night long.

~The End~

* * *

_A/N: It's done! I started this in September, and ended it in April, so the real timeline of my story was almost parallel to how long it took to write it! I've never taken this long to write a story before! Of course, I did finish two or three (or four or five) other stories along the way, while I did this one…(__A Feeling Unknown__, __A Second Chance__, __A Silent Night__, __A Valentine's Day Surprise,__ and __A Date by Proxy__)._

_Thanks to everyone who read. Thanks to my beta…olivewoodsgirl! You are so awesome! You helped me with my phrasing, you helped me from being redundant, and you helped me with my blatant use of passive voice, which I do ALL THE TIME! This is the official end to the A Familiar Place series.__ If I have to add another epilogue, and kill them to end it, the way I did with Draco and Hermione in the fourth story of "A Week in the Life" series, I will. Nah, just joking. THANKS!!)_


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